Tesla (TSLA) plans to hold an event at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank on October 10 to showcase its highly anticipated autonomous taxis. Investors seem to be waiting for the right moment to make significant bets on Tesla stock. The event was initially scheduled for August but was postponed, ostensibly to reveal some information about Tesla's robotaxi plans and designs. Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) with the title "We, Robot," stating that this would be "a historic launch event." After the postponement, Tesla's stock price took a significant hit due to overly high expectations from the public.

The robotaxi is the main highlight of Robotaxi Day. Initially, Tesla announced the "We, Robot" event on April 5, and Musk suddenly posted on X to announce that "Tesla's robotaxi will be unveiled on August 8." However, beyond this, Tesla did not disclose any additional information. Bernstein expects the company to showcase its robotaxi prototype, codenamed "Cybercab," designed specifically for autonomous driving, on October 10. Earlier this year, Tesla proposed a concept for a small two-seater car shaped like a teardrop, with no steering wheel.

Reports indicate that its test vehicle has already been tested in Los Angeles, and although it was heavily camouflaged, its shape appears to align with expectations for a two-door car.

Update on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Progress and Roadmap

Bernstein points out that Level 4 (L4) autonomy is a clear prerequisite for a true robotaxi service, while Tesla's current FSD offering remains at Level 2+. The industry commonly uses the classification standard for autonomous driving systems published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which ranges from Level 0 to Level 5. Level 0 means no automation, while Level 5 indicates full automation. Currently, most vehicles with autonomous driving features are at Level 2.

Ride-Hailing Services May Adopt Autonomous Driving Technology in the Future

Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft created approximately $54 billion in total ride-hailing orders in the U.S. in 2024. Morgan Stanley estimates that the mileage of existing ride-hailing services accounts for only about 1% of the total driving mileage in the U.S. As time goes on, the cost of autonomous driving services is expected to decrease, significantly increasing the opportunity and frequency for ride-hailing services to utilize autonomous technology.

Tesla also faces a significant challenge: it does not have an autonomous taxi system. In fact, it is still far from achieving this. While some critics admire its ability to complete entire trips without intervention, it has only been able to do so a few times in succession. This was the situation with Waymo around 2014, and now, in 2024, Waymo has only just begun to scale up and has not yet gone into production or provided commercial services. Some Tesla supporters mistakenly believe they are further ahead because their driver assistance "FSD supervision" operates with oversight on most roads, but the taxi service itself has a service area. If Waymo wanted to achieve this, their vehicles would almost certainly perform better than Tesla's on all roads, but they have no incentive to do so. Tesla has accomplished impressive feats, but they are still far from their goal. A fully operational autonomous taxi must operate without supervision and must complete the "full driving" tasks of Tesla 50,000 times consecutively, rather than just a few times.

In the future, there will definitely be some sort of taxi that lacks a steering wheel or pedals and offers a spacious interior. It might resemble existing Teslas but without the control devices—its interior is already quite stylish. It could be a smaller two-seater or a luxurious workspace the size of a Cybertruck. The challenge is that it’s hard to be surprised, as many concept cars and actual vehicles for this purpose have already emerged. Some "leaked" models look very similar to the recently released Rimac "Verne" robotaxi. We’ve seen small vehicles and concepts from Google, Volvo, Toyota, Mercedes, and many other companies. We’ve also seen larger vehicles, sometimes referred to as "toaster" shapes from Zoox and Cruise, featuring face-to-face seating and spacious interiors for easy entry and exit. We can hope that Tesla will bring us something surprising, but it will likely include many elements we’ve already seen.

Follow us

Find us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for frequent updates on all things investing.

Have a financial topic you would like to discuss? Head over to the uSMART Community to share your thoughts and insights about the market! Click the picture below to download and explore uSMART app！

Important Notice and Disclaimer:

We have based this article on our internal research and information available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable. While we have taken all reasonable care in preparing this article, we do not represent the information contained in this article is accurate or complete and we accept no responsibility for errors of fact or for any opinion expressed in this article. Opinions, projections and estimates reflect our assessments as of the article date and are subject to change. We have no obligation to notify you or anyone of any such change. You must make your own independent judgment with respect to any matter contained in this article. Neither we or our respective directors, officers or employees will be responsible for any losses or damages which any person may suffer or incur as a result of relying upon anything stated or omitted from this article.

This document should not be construed in any jurisdiction as constituting an offer, solicitation, recommendation, inducement, endorsement, opinion, or guarantee to purchase, sell, or trade any securities, financial products, or instruments or to engage in any investment or any transaction of any kind, nor is there any intention to solicit or invite the purchase or sale of any securities.

The value of these securities and the income from them may fall or rise. Your investment is subject to investment risk, including loss of income and capital invested. Past performance figures as well as any projection or forecast used in this article is not indicative of its future performance.

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore