California: Elon Musk, the leading e-car maker in the world, has claimed in a post on X that Tesla, his car-making company, will roll out its robotaxi car on August 8, this year.
Musk has been speaking about the robotaxi project for the past several years, and now it could sound like a major business opportunity for the carmaker as investors grow wary of the company during a period of slowing growth.
Tesla shares rose over 3 per cent in extended trading after Musk’s tweet.
Musk shared the reveal date on Friday after Reuters reported that the plan for Tesla’s highly-anticipated low-cost car model had been scrapped. Musk accused Reuters of “lying’’.
In 2015, Elon Musk told shareholders that Tesla’s cars would achieve “full autonomy’’ within three years. In 2016, he said Tesla would be able to send one of its cars on a cross-country drive without requiring any human intervention by the end of the following year.
Tesla still has yet to deliver a robotaxi, autonomous vehicle or technology that can turn its cars into “level 3’’ automated vehicles. However, Tesla offers advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including standard autopilot options or premium Full Self-Driving – FSD- options.
