Robotaxi unveiling delayed due to an important design change: Musk

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla has signalled that the automaker will take more time to unveil its robotaxi. The delay has been made because the company is working on incorporating an important design change to the front of the vehicle and ‘show off’ some other things.

Musk did not disclose when the automaker would hold an event to launch its robotaxi. Bloomberg News further reported that the event, which was originally set to be held on August 8, had been delayed to October.

To a user who discussed the event on X, Musk responded, "Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and the extra time allows us to show off a few other things."

A person familiar with the matter said on Friday that the robotaxi event has been delayed, without elaborating further.

With the road to developing robotaxis and autonomous driving systems facing several engineering and regulatory hurdles, Wall Street analysts and Tesla investors have noted that a delay in the robotaxi launch would not be a surprise.

Musk announced the August unveiling day after Reuters reported (on April 5) that Tesla had cancelled its long-promised inexpensive car and would continue developing self-driving robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform.

The billionaire CEO has given minimal details about the robotaxi so far. He has only said that some vehicles would be owned and operated by Tesla, while others would be owned by individuals but rented out on Tesla's network.

Shares of Tesla jumped on Monday after Musk publicly endorsed Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, fanning hopes that a potential Trump administration could make it easier for Tesla to secure regulatory approvals for robotaxis and autonomous driving systems.