Yahoo Autos Report: Tesla delays robotaxi launch until October
Robotaxi is said to have been postponed due to a last-minute restyling effort
Tesla has delayed the unveiling of its autonomous ‘Cybercab’ taxi from August to October, Bloomberg has reported.
The covers were originally due to be lifted on the new car, developed specifically for ride-hailing, on 8 August.
The postponement comes after Tesla designers were asked to restyle the car, requiring extra time to build more prototypes, according to Bloomberg.
Autocar has contacted Tesla for comment.
The long-mooted taxi had become the focal point of Tesla’s upcoming launches, after Reuters reported that the entry-level ‘Model 2’ EV had been axed.
The 'Model 2' was tipped to be priced at less than £25,000, rivalling the BYD Dolphin, Renault 5 and Volkswagen ID 2.
Reuters reported that the car’s platform would instead be used to underpin the robotaxi, citing three sources familiar with the matter and Tesla’s internal communications.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk denied the report, stating in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that “Reuters is lying (again)”.
Musk later said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call that it had “accelerated the launch of new models”, implying a new car could arrive on the market by early 2025.
“These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will use aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up,” said Musk.
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