JAKARTA - Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA.O) will make a "dedicated" self-driving taxi that will have a "futuristic appearance." This was said by Tesla's Chief Executive, Elon Musk, on Thursday, April 7. Unfortunately he did not provide information on the schedule when the launch will be carried out.
The 50-year-old billionaire, wearing a black cowboy hat and sunglasses, then made the comments at the opening of Tesla's $1.1 billion factory in Texas. The factory is also Tesla's new headquarters.
"Large scale. Fully self-driving. There will be special robotic action," Musk told a large crowd at the factory.
Musk has missed his goal of fully autonomous vehicles several times. In 2019, he said robotaxis without a human driver would be available in some US markets by 2020. But it missed.
pic.twitter.com/ft2zujMvkK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2022
In January, he said he would be "surprised" if Tesla did not achieve full self-driving technology that is safer than human drivers this year.
According to Musk, Tesla will expand its "Full Self-Driving" beta software to all North American FSD customers this year.
Tesla is now selling its advanced driver assistance system for $12,000, with the promise of more features. But the software does not make the vehicle autonomous, and requires driver supervision.
The beta version, launched in late 2020, aims to allow cars to better navigate city streets. As of January, it has been installed in nearly 60,000 vehicles in the United States.
Musk said Tesla had started deliveries of the Texas-made Model Y electric sports utility vehicle, with a goal of producing half a million a year at the Texas plant. According to him, the Tesla factory in Texas will be the largest car factory in the United States.
He didn't give details of the Model Ys as such, but they tend to be lower priced versions to better take on the cheaper competitors.
"Tesla will begin production of the Cybertruck next year as well as the humanoid robot Optimus," Musk said.
According to analysts, the company's new giga plants in Texas and Berlin, which will make its own vehicles and battery cells, face the challenge of continuously increasing production with new processes.
But Musk says Tesla is simplifying car manufacturing by making cars using three main parts.
Despite record first-quarter shipments, the recent spike in COVID-19 in China has forced Tesla to suspend production at its Shanghai plant for several days.
Thursday's event comes after Musk surprised markets this week by revealing he had bought a 9% stake in Twitter (TWTR.N) and would be joining the social media network's board.
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