Elon Musk promises Tesla robotaxis in August
Elon Musk, as the billionaire head of X and Tesla is wont to do, fired off a tweet announcing major business news without providing further clarification.
Musk tweeted Friday, "Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8." That was shortly before 5 p.m. ET after the stock market had closed.
This post was almost assuredly a response to a detailed report from Reuters about Tesla's Robotaxi plan. The news service had published an in-depth feature reporting that Tesla wanted to scrap its plan to manufacture a low-cost vehicle in favor of the robotaxi.
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In response, Musk posted, "Reuters is lying (again)." Musk did not refute anything specific about the Reuter's report, however. Then, not much later, Musk posted the tweet saying Robotaxi would be unveiled on Aug. 8, seemingly in line with Reuters' reporting.
As is often the case with the Tesla CEO, it's tough to parse what is real and what is bluster because Musk has such a knack for it. Even if the Robotaxi is unveiled in August, that doesn't mean we'll suddenly have them all over the road. Dropping the curtain on a car is relatively easy when compared to having functional, safe, and legal automated cars on the road.
Remember when Tesla unveiled a robot with a guy dancing in a robot suit then later unveiled a robot that couldn't stand? Keep that in mind when thinking about what we'll actually get in August.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
