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Tesla Robotaxi Update · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads, the
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host Will Walden. Have you ever wondered when
• 0:16
  Tesla will finally unveil its robo taxi?
• 0:20
  Now think of it like the long-awaited release of Avatar
• 0:24
  Two, one of the best movies ever.
• 0:25
  In my opinion, it's worth the wait for the promised
• 0:28
  advancements in technology. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on
• 0:34
  Monday that the company will take additional time to
• 0:37
  introduce its Robo taxi, allowing for a crucial design
• 0:40
  change to the vehicle's front and to show off other
• 0:44
  enhancements. But Elon didn't provide a
• 0:46
  specific date for the robo taxi unveiling event, according to
• 0:49
  Bloomberg News, which reported last week that the event,
• 0:52
  originally scheduled for August 8th, has been postponed until
• 0:56
  October. Now on X, Musk responded to a
• 1:00
  user discussing the event, stating requested.
• 1:02
  What I think is an important design change for the front and
• 1:06
  extra time allows us to show off a few other things now.
• 1:09
  A person familiar with the matter confirmed on Friday that
• 1:12
  the robo taxi event has been delayed, but did not provide
• 1:15
  further details. This development comes as Tesla
• 1:18
  continues to navigate the complex engineering and
• 1:20
  regulatory challenges of developing robo taxis and
• 1:24
  autonomous driving systems. Now, some analysis out there and
• 1:28
  Tesla investors, we're not surprised by the delay.
• 1:31
  The path to fully autonomous vehicles is fraught with
• 1:33
  obstacles. We've been promised full self
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  driving, complete full self driving for years now, but
• 1:38
  haven't got it. And delays are not uncommon in
• 1:41
  this technical field. Now, Musk had initially
• 1:44
  announced the August unveiling date shortly after Reuters
• 1:47
  reported on April 5th that Tesla had cancelled its long promise
• 1:51
  inexpensive car, the $25,000 Tesla, to focus on developing
• 1:55
  self driving robo taxis on the same small vehicle platform.
• 2:00
  Now, Elon has offered scant details about the robo taxi thus
• 2:03
  far. We don't really know much.
• 2:05
  He has mentioned that some vehicles would be owned and
• 2:08
  operated by Tesla though, while others would be privately owned
• 2:11
  by people like us and rented out via Tesla's network.
• 2:15
  And there'll be specific vehicles that'll be able to do
• 2:17
  this. Probably future vehicles, the
• 2:18
  one that you have now, probably won't be able to be in this
• 2:21
  fleet due to hardware constraints now.
• 2:24
  Tesla stocks surged on Monday after Musk publicly endorsed
• 2:27
  Donald Trump in the US presidential race, fueling
• 2:30
  speculation that a Trump administration might ease
• 2:32
  regulatory approval for Tesla's robo taxis in autonomous driving
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  systems. Now in 2022, Musk claimed that
• 2:40
  Tesla aimed to mass produce a robotaxi without a steering
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  wheel or pedals by 2024, despite missing several previous targets
• 2:48
  for self driving vehicles and following the news of Musk's
• 2:51
  endorsement, Tesla shares rose 5% in afternoon trading.
• 2:55
  The endorsement was seen as potentially favorable for
• 2:58
  Tesla's future regulatory landscape.
• 3:01
  Now their commitment to fully autonomous robotaxi involves
• 3:04
  creating a vehicle from scratch, designed to be driverless.
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  Nothing like what we've seen before, but probably similar to
• 3:11
  a Model 3. Now, this initiative stands
• 3:14
  alongside the company's ongoing efforts to update existing
• 3:17
  vehicles like the Model Y with self driving capabilities via
• 3:21
  software updates. Now, hints about the robotaxi's
• 3:24
  design suggest it may resemble the cyber truck inside, but
• 3:29
  there's also hints of the Model 3A.
• 3:31
  Speculation about the interior has been fueled by a video Tesla
• 3:36
  released, but concrete details remain scarce.
• 3:39
  Initially set for an August 8th debut, the unveiling is now
• 3:43
  anticipated to occur closer to the end of the year, giving
• 3:46
  Tesla additional time to refine the vehicle, make it look pretty
• 3:50
  for the presentation, and produce more prototypes.
• 3:54
  Make sure that thing is stage ready next time Elon.
• 3:56
  Don't go throwing anything through windows like you did
• 4:00
  with a cyber truck now. Reactions to the delay varied
• 4:03
  among analysts and investors. Tesla investor Ross Gerber
• 4:07
  criticized the delay as another broken promise from Elon,
• 4:11
  drawing parallels to pass delays with the cyber truck.
• 4:13
  But now we have the cyber truck, so it's all good.
• 4:16
  And Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, however,
• 4:19
  suggests that the delay was insignificant in the grand
• 4:22
  scheme, a view counter by Gerber, who noted that Tesla
• 4:25
  projects frequently missed deadlines.
• 4:29
  Some users supported Musk's approach, preferring the delay
• 4:32
  if it means a better final product.
• 4:34
  Others criticized Musk on X, with one user posting a
• 4:38
  compilation of Musk's promises about the robotaxi dating all
• 4:42
  the way back to 2014. And amidst these discussions,
• 4:46
  UBS downgraded Tesla's stock to a sell rating unless Joseph.
• 4:50
  SPAC cited concerns over the company's inflated stock price
• 4:54
  heavily dependent on future growth prospects that might not
• 4:57
  materialize as highly as anticipated now.
• 5:00
  SPAC's note emphasized that while Tesla's investments in AI
• 5:03
  are substantial, the associated costs are high and the ROI may
• 5:08
  be slow and uncertain. It suggested that if market
• 5:11
  enthusiasm for AI wanes, Tesla's valuation could be adversely
• 5:16
  affected. Now, the delay in the robotaxi
• 5:19
  unveiling has sparked a mix of skepticism and support.
• 5:23
  Musk's confirmation of the delay, coupled with a statement
• 5:26
  about the design change, shows that Tesla is focusing solely on
• 5:30
  the robotaxi. It will meet the high standards
• 5:33
  of Tesla and Elon and also the public.
• 5:37
  And while the timeline has shifted, the anticipation will
• 5:40
  continue to build until we get our Robotaxi.
• 5:49
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 5:51
  I really do appreciate your support.
• 5:53
  If you could take a second and hit this subscribe or the follow
• 5:56
  button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening
• 5:58
  on right now, I greatly appreciate it.
• 6:00
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  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
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• 6:09
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• 6:12
  to patreon.com/stage Zero. And please take care of
• 6:17
  yourselves and each other. And I'll see you tomorrow.