- Elon Musk announces Tesla’s robotaxi unveiling set for August 8th.
- The autonomous ride-hailing vehicle is crucial to Tesla’s valuation and software-driven growth.
- Pricing and availability details for the robotaxi remain unclear.
Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla will unveil its long-awaited robotaxi on August 8th, causing the company’s shares to jump more than 3% in after-hours trading.
The autonomous ride-hailing vehicle has been a crucial factor in Tesla’s valuation in recent years, as Musk pursues self-driving features to increase the value of the company’s cars through software.
FSD: From beta to “supervised”
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which Musk has touted as having the ability to make the cars grow in value, remained in beta testing until earlier this year.
The company now refers to it as FSD “supervised,” and the software is currently classified as “level two” on an industry standard that ranges from one to six, indicating that it still requires complete human supervision and is not fully autonomous.
Competing in the autonomous vehicle market
Other companies, such as Alphabet’s Waymo division and GM-backed Cruise, have successfully released more advanced versions of autonomous vehicles.
It remains unclear what pricing may look like for Tesla’s eventual robotaxi and if it would be available for sale to consumers or businesses. FSD currently costs $200 a month for owners whose cars have the right hardware to enable it.
