Tesla will unveil its robotaxi tomorrow, Thursday, October 10. New rumors have emerged about the design of the autonomous car and the event itself. According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk’s team might use this opportunity to introduce a surprise vehicle.
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In this context, the media suggests that Tesla investors believe a van with autonomous capabilities could also be launched alongside the robotaxi. This information should be taken with caution, as there is no official source to confirm it. However, it’s worth noting that the company has hinted at a possible vehicle with that design in recent years.
Not too long ago, last June, during the annual shareholders meeting, Elon Musk showed a board featuring Tesla’s existing models and three others in development, which might include the robotaxi. Although Musk did not provide details about the covered models, one appeared to have a square shape and looked like a van.
Additionally, in the presentation of the third part of its Master Plan for 2023, Tesla included “buses” and “commercial and passenger vans” in a comparison table with details like batteries, global fleet sizes, and other statistics. While this mention was not a direct reference to the company’s products, the section for Tesla’s equivalent vehicles was marked TBD, meaning “to be defined.”
More details on Tesla’s robotaxi and other possible announcements
If the rumored van is announced alongside Tesla’s robotaxi, Bloomberg suggests it could be designed to transport groups of 12 or more people or make deliveries autonomously. We’ll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true or if it’s just speculation.
Regarding the robotaxi, additional details about its design have emerged. It is expected to be a fully autonomous electric car with no steering wheels or pedals. The vehicle will likely feature only two seats, and its doors will open upwards using a “butterfly wing” mechanism.
If confirmed, the concept of the robotaxi would align closely with the prototype image included in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. This model featured space for only two passengers and an upward-opening door system, different from the “gull-wing” doors used in the Tesla Model X.
Other announcements that might occur during the robotaxi presentation could include fully autonomous driving for the Tesla Semi, updates on the development of the Optimus humanoid robot, and potentially cheaper versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla’s robotaxi event, called “We, Robot,” will take place tomorrow, Thursday, October 10, starting at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. You can watch it live on Tesla’s official Twitter account on X.
