The way to watch Tesla’s robotaxi occasion

On Thursday, Tesla CEO and famous fancy leaper Elon Musk will take the stage to showcase the corporate’s robotaxi plans, a la the “Cybercab.” Though the automobile we see isn’t anticipated to be a completely practical product, traders and Tesla followers are hoping for a working prototype or different indicators the corporate can navigate the technological and regulatory obstacles it would face. You possibly can watch the occasion on an X livestream at 10PM ET.

With the Cybercab, Musk is aiming for a completely autonomous automobile that runs on a Tesla ridesharing community. Homeowners may also reportedly have the ability to make their vehicles out there on the community to run as autonomous cabs, likened to a “mixture of Airbnb and Uber.”

The CEO started talking about the robotaxi plan years in the past. Nevertheless, it took on better significance earlier this yr when Tesla reportedly shelved its plans for an entry-level EV — typically known as “Mannequin 2” — in favor of the autonomous ridesharing mission.

Not like opponents Waymo, Cruise and Zoox, Tesla’s present automation depends on cameras and AI. Reuters notes that Musk will purpose to enhance the tech quickly sufficient to “crack” the extremely regulated trade. It doesn’t matter what is promised on the occasion, chances are you’ll need to take the CEO’s guarantees with a number of grains of salt (if not Cybertruckloads). In April 2019, Musk stated, “If you happen to quick ahead a yr, possibly a yr [and] three months, we’ll have over a million robotaxis on the road.”

Right here we’re in 2024 — which you could have seen isn’t, in truth, 2020 — and Tesla doesn’t have a single robotaxi on the street.

Wired notes that the corporate doesn’t have an autonomous allow in California and reportedly hasn’t contacted the state’s AV regulators about testing. Waymo, Zoox, the beleaguered Cruise and Apple (now not in the self-driving car business) have logged hundreds of miles testing their self-driving autos within the Golden State. Waymo is the one firm within the US at present working robotaxis commercially.

You possibly can tune in to the livestream to see what Musk and firm have in retailer at 10PM ET / 7PM ET on Thursday.