Make your robotaxi predictions for the 8/8 reveal

So Elon says that Tesla will reveal a dedicated robotaxi vehicle on 8/8. What do you think we will see? Will it look like this concept art or something else?

I will say that while this concept drawing looks super cool, I am a bit skeptical if it is practical as a robotaxi. It looks to only have 2 seats which would be fine for 1-2 people who need a ride but would not work for more than 2 people. I feel like that would limit the robotaxis value for a lot of people. Also, it would likely need a steering wheel and pedals for regulatory reasons even if Tesla did achieve eyes-off capability.

So I think this is concept art for a hypothetical 2 seater, cheap Tesla, not a robotaxi.

Could the robotaxi look more like this concept art but smaller? It could look a bit more like say the Zoox vehicle or the Cruise Origin, more futuristic box like shape IMO and seat 5-6 people.

Or maybe the robotaxi will look more like the "model 2" concept:

Other questions:
- Will the robotaxis be available to own by individuals as a personal car or will it strictly be owned by Tesla and only used in a ride-hailing network?
- What will cost be?
- Will it have upgraded hardware? Radar? Lidar? additional compute?
- Will Elon reveal any details on how the ride-hailing network will work?

Thoughts? Let the fun speculation begin!

 

[enemji]

the average taxi holds 1.3 people.

In that case, I propose the world’s most popular taxi model

 

[aataskin]

Don't forgot to bolt a camera on to it

Not to take away from the fun of guessing how it will look like on the 8/8 - but will it actually be an actual full-fledged self-driving (not beta, not supervised) robotaxi?

 

[uscbucsfan]

Don't forgot to bolt a camera on to it

Not to take away from the fun of guessing how it will look like on the 8/8 - but will it actually be an actual full-fledged self-driving (not beta, not supervised) robotaxi?

8/8 is the reveal. It will likely be a vehicle on a stage like the CT was in 2019.

 

[aataskin]

Similar to Waymo. Tesla will need to build depots that store, clean, maintain and charge them.

I thought the idea was they would be privately owned and rented out while the owner is at work, in which case it's the owner who will be washing and cleaning it before taking the ride back home.

 

[uscbucsfan]

I thought the idea was they would be privately owned and rented out while the owner is at work, in which case it's the owner who will be washing and cleaning it before taking the ride back home.

Not for the RT vehicle.

 

[JulienW]

I thought the idea was they would be privately owned and rented out while the owner is at work, in which case it's the owner who will be washing and cleaning it before taking the ride back home.

No Tesla is planning to go full bore into the robotaxi business. Elon just appease owners saying we will also be allowed to add our cars to the fleet. But this is just a string along letting us down one step at a time since our cars really don't have the hardware for L4.

 

[uscbucsfan]

Just because they have a model Franz is posing with does not mean it is RT. People are crazy…

Tesla showed the 2 door RT twice at the Investor Meeting when Elon said they will solve autonomy.

 

[enemji]

Tesla showed the 2 door RT twice at the Investor Meeting when Elon said they will solve autonomy.

Yes. It is truly possible. AS always, Elon wants to break the mold of what people expect. People expected a weak ass electric car like the Prius. Instead he brings out the Model 3 which competes with a Porsche 911 for 0-60 @ 4.1secs.

So yes. It is totally possible.

 

[JulienW]

I've said sorta this before but.........everybody loves a sports car and most even love the experience of getiting in/out at least one. HOWEVER on a daily bases people will HATE getting in/falling down and struggling like HELL to get up/out. If Tesla makes this many will try it and hate it and would rather have an Uber SUV pick them up so they can just slide in and out like they are used to.

Or use Waymo when available in their area.

 

[DrChaos]

I've said sorta this before but.........everybody loves a sports car and most even love the experience of getiting in/out at least one. HOWEVER on a daily bases people will HATE getting in/falling down and struggling like HELL to get up/out. If Tesla makes this many will try it and hate it and would rather have an Uber SUV pick them up so they can just slide in and out like they are used to.

Or use Waymo when available in their area.

Worried this might be like Elon doubling down on the Cybertruck, he's going to push on what he personally thinks is Cool but not appealing to the masses.

 

[enemji]

Worried this might be like Elon doubling down on the Cybertruck, he's going to push on what he personally thinks is Cool but not appealing to the masses.

HOWEVER on a daily bases people will HATE getting in/falling down and struggling like HELL to get up/out.

That means he is pushing to appeal to the younger generation

 

[kabin]

No Tesla is planning to go full bore into the robotaxi business. Elon just appease owners saying we will also be allowed to add our cars to the fleet. But this is just a string along letting us down one step at a time since our cars really don't have the hardware for L4.

Elon plans to squeeze every ounce of profit potential from anyone dumb enough to buy in. In the past Elon said Tesla would take a percentage of revenue from the owners and that's after charging an upfront cost, possibly a franchise fee, to purchase the RT feature.

 

[Ben W]

the average taxi holds 1.3 people.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Elon plans to squeeze every ounce of profit potential from anyone dumb enough to buy in. In the past Elon said Tesla would take a percentage of revenue from the owners and that's after charging an upfront cost, possibly a franchise fee, to purchase the RT feature.

This has been a great day of news. Just super glad I bought in early in 2018/2020. Plus the free supercharging will help me with my margins. On top of the beers I've won betting against FSD left turns, there's not much more I need to make in order to break even.

Just super exciting times.

 

[voyager]

A shift in Tesla earnings? No longer from producing ownership cars, but RTs...​

Tesla Likely to Launch Robotaxi Service in Next 5 Years, May Account for 90% of Future Profit​

More and more commentators mention that the cab concept in the Walter Isaacson biogtraphy
is probably close to what Musk envisages.

 

[voyager]

View attachment 1056440

Since the average car occupancy (driven yourself or taxi) is 1.3 – 1.4 person, a Tesla two-seater would suffice 90 percent of the time. Need to carry more people, THEN use a Tesla Model Y. This means that the standard Tesla RT can be made cheap and used cost-efficiently. The smaller the RT, the less difficulty in handling traffic autonomously also.

However, this also means that a prvately owned Tesla Model 3 deployed for ride-hailing can never be as price-competitive as Tesla's own 2-seater RT.

 

[voyager]

Since the average car occupancy (driven yourself or taxi) is 1.3 – 1.4 person, a Tesla two-seater would suffice 90 percent of the time. Need to carry more people, THEN use a Tesla Model Y. This means that the standard Tesla RT can be made cheap and used cost-efficiently. The smaller the RT, the less difficulty in handling traffic autonomously also.

However, this also means that a prvately owned Tesla Model 3 deployed for ride-hailing can never be as price-competitive as Tesla's own 2-seater RT.

If Tesla's initially looking like a four-wheeler RT turns out to be an inferior 'copy' from an older semi three-wheel design,
then any OEM that wants to compete with this specific Tesla RT will have a head start if it has that better design to work with...

https://carnewschina.com/2024/05/08/tesla-received-a-nod-for-robotaxi-testing-from-chinese-officials-during-musks-visit-report-says/

 

[aataskin]

The smaller the RT, the less difficulty in handling traffic autonomously also.

Why? The question is not which one is easier to drive in heavy traffic, but rather which one will have the technology to reliably drive it from point A to point B. Judging by the posts in this forum, and my standing assumption that some of the guys here are paid influencers, my guess now is that 8/8 will see a render of what the Tesla robotaxi may look like in the future, if it ever materializes at all. In other words, a damp squib.

However, this also means that a prvately owned Tesla Model 3 deployed for ride-hailing can never be as price-competitive as Tesla's own 2-seater RT.

But "robotaxiing" for a privately owned M3 was moslty meant to reduce the cost of ownership, rather than an investment on its own. The two concepts do not compete with each other.

 

[uscbucsfan]

Why? The question is not which one is easier to drive in heavy traffic, but rather which one will have the technology to reliably drive it from point A to point B. Judging by the posts in this forum, and my standing assumption that some of the guys here are paid influencers, my guess now is that 8/8 will see a render of what the Tesla robotaxi may look like in the future, if it ever materializes at all. In other words, a damp squib.


But "robotaxiing" for a privately owned M3 was moslty meant to reduce the cost of ownership, rather than an investment on its own. The two concepts do not compete with each other.

Almost positive there will be a prototype shown on 8/8. CT, M3, etc. have all had a car hand built to show upon unveiling.

 

[JulienW]

Almost positive there will be a prototype shown on 8/8. CT, M3, etc. have all had a car hand built to show upon unveiling.

May even be 2 prototypes (2 seater and a van/5+ type) since they are relatively easy to build.