Tesla Robotaxi Car Launch Postponed, Design Changed And New Features Added

Tesla vehicle line. (Doc. Tesla)

JAKARTA - Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted at delaying the launch of his company's robotaxi car. This delay was made to accommodate important design changes at the front of the vehicle and "show several other things."

Musk did not say when Tesla would hold the official launch of the robotaxi car. Previously, Bloomberg News reported that the event, which was originally scheduled for August 8, was postponed to October 8.

"I ask for a design change that I think is important on the front of the car. This additional time also allows us to showcase some other features," Musk said via his personal social media platform x, responding to user uploads discussing the launch event.

An anonymous source familiar with the matter on Friday confirmed the postponement of the launch event, but did not elaborate.

While reported by Reuters on July 16, given the many technical and regulatory challenges faced in the development of robotaxi cars and autonomous driving systems, analysts Wall Street and Tesla investors were not surprised by the delay in this launch.

Earlier, on April 5, Reuters reported that Tesla had canceled its long-pre promised low-cost car production plan. Instead, Tesla will continue to develop self-driving robotaxi cars on the same small vehicle platform.

Musk himself has so far not provided many details about the robotaxi car. He only said that some vehicles would be owned and operated by Tesla, while others would be owned by individuals but leased through Tesla's network.