Will Tesla Robotaxis Live Up To 10 Years Of Development And Hype?

For a decade, Elon Musk has championed the idea that one day Tesla cars will drive themselves as robotaxis. On October 10, the company plans to reveal a “dedicated robotaxi” design at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles.

Despite years of bold predictions and missed deadlines, fans of the company are holding out hope that Musk will finally deliver. Regardless of what the company showcases at its robotaxi day, experts are skeptical of the company’s strategy, citing its Auotpilot and Full Self-Driving technology as a barometer for Tesla’s progress, or lack thereof.

While Tesla has been developing its autonomous vehicles, competitors like Google-owned Waymo and Chinese companies like Pony.ai and Baidu have already launched commercial robotaxi services.

With U.S. EV sales growth slowing, there’s a lot riding on Tesla’s potential pivot to autonomy. CNBC explores whether the company is ready for robotaxis and if Musk’s vision for driverless Teslas will become a reality anytime soon.

Correction:
2:41 The event date is mislabeled. The correct event is the Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting, which occurred on June 13, 2024.

Chapters:
3:18 Ch 1 – Tesla’s vision for autonomy
6:33 Ch 2 – Full self-driving
10:13 Ch 3 – Realizing the robotaxi
15:34 Ch 4 – Sizing up the robotaxi competition

Produced and Shot by: Andrew Evers
Additional Reporting: Lora Kolodny
Edited by: Andrew Evers, Erin Black
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Additional Camera: Katie Tarasov, Lisa Setyon
Graphics by: Jason Reginato
Narration: Robert Ferris
Additional Footage: Cruise, Getty Images, Tesla, Waymo, Zoox

» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision

About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.

Want to be a successful, confident communicator? Take CNBC’s online course Become an Effective Communicator: Master Public Speaking. We’ll teach you how to speak clearly and confidently, calm your nerves, what to say and not say, and body language techniques to make a great first impression. Get started today: https://cnb.cx/4aryNgM

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads
Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC