Inside Scoop on Tesla's Driverless Taxi - Prospective Pricing, Release Schedule, Specifications, and Hearsay Reports

Inside Scoop on Tesla’s Driverless Taxi - Prospective Pricing, Release Schedule, Specifications, and Hearsay Reports

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Elon Musk has been talking for years about Tesla’s inevitable autonomous vehicle future. The Tesla Robotaxi, aka Cybercab, has been a featured player in that conversation and announced several times before as on the way. This self-driving taxi does seem to be inching closer to an official release, but details are still sparse. Here’s what we’ve gathered so far.

When Will the Tesla Robotaxi Be Released?

Musk previously claimed that the Tesla Robotaxi would be on the market by 2020 , at Tesla’s first Autonomy Investor Day in 2020, and then pivoted to a 2024 production date .

There was also talk of an affordable EV heading to production at the end of 2025 , but more recently, we’ve heard murmurs that this model has been postponed or even canceled.

Given some murkiness around that model and Tesla’s track record of being a bit late with its launch estimates, a 2024 release seems unlikely at this point . Especially because NBC News reports that regulators in various states (Arizona, Nevada, and Texas) haven’t heard anything from Tesla about acquiring the necessary permits.

However, Musk plans to pull the curtain back a bit soon. In April, Musk announced an August 8 unveiling of the robotaxi, but Bloomberg reports that the event has been postponed to October as a result of Musk’s design change requests.

In May stockholder meeting materials, there’s mention of a “purpose-built robotaxi expected to be demo’ed this year.” Based on recent comments on his X profile, Musk seems to confirm that the October event will unveil a prototype: “Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things.”

Lifewire’s Release Date Estimate

Though the Tesla Robotaxi unveiling happens sometime in October, we’re still probably several years away from a production-ready model.

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Tesla Robotaxi Price Rumors

There was talk that Tesla would release a more affordable $25,000 electric vehicle (EV) for a wider consumer audience.

However, Reuters reported that Tesla scrapped the entry-level Tesla in favor of working toward the robotaxi, built on the same smaller platform as the planned mass-market EV. Musk denies that Tesla’s plans for a more affordable EV have been nixed.

Either way, we don’t know much about the cost of a Tesla Robotaxi. The Tesla Model 3 might offer some clues: With Full Self-Driving added, the Model 3 comes in at about $50,000.

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Pre-Order Information

There’s no information about Tesla Robotaxi pre-ordering right now.

In the event that Musk and Tesla provide details at the August unveiling, we’ll add everything we learn here.

Tesla Robotaxi Features

At Tesla’s May shareholder meeting, Musk reiterated the money-making potential for Cybercab owners, using a model that’s a little bit Airbnb and a dash of Uber.

He outlined a vision for owners to essentially rent out their vehicles by adding them to Tesla’s robotaxi fleet. The idea is that the vehicles would make money while owners are away and that owners can remove their robotaxi from the fleet anytime.

Tesla has also offered a glimpse of the Tesla app, which will allow owners to add their vehicles to the taxi service mix with a tap of a button. This app is also where riders can hail robotaxis and complete other actions, like viewing arrival times and adjusting the vehicle’s temperature.

Preview of ride-hailing in the Tesla app.

Tesla

As for the look, we’ve seen some renderings like the one below.

A company promo video, which Musk shared on X, also points to a few design leaks , like:

A lack of a steering wheel
No pedals
Two-seat coupe build
Centrally mounted display
Cybertruck-inspired bumper

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Tesla Robotaxi Specs and Hardware

There aren’t many concrete details about Tesla Robotaxi specs, but one noteworthy speculation is that the Cybercab will be built completely from scratch and use a sensor suite similar to the Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) platform.

However, FSD uses a camera system rather than LiDAR and is far from fully autonomous. The most recent FSD 12 has made the biggest strides, but it’s still classified as Level 2 autonomous for routine city driving and under constant driver supervision.

We’ll probably know more about the design and feature set after August 8, so stay tuned.

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The Latest News About the Tesla Robotaxi

We’ll update this page as we learn more about the Tesla Robotaxi release date and other model specifics. In the meantime, get more of the latest smart and connected life news from Lifewire , and check out these stories about Tesla and other rumored EVs.

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