Tesla wants to present its long-promised robotaxi on August 8th. Company boss Elon Musk announced the presentation of the robotaxi from the US car manufacturer Tesla on Friday on his online platform X. Further details were not initially disclosed. The autonomous vehicle will be based on a new technical platform that will make production more efficient and cost-effective.
Musk has been promising for years that Teslas will drive autonomously – and that this will radically change the value of the cars and the business model. So far, the “autopilot” technology in Tesla’s electric cars is simply a driving assistance system that requires control and intervention by a human behind the wheel.
Unlike already active robotaxi providers such as Google’s sister company Waymo, Musk always maintained that he only wanted to use cameras and forego the more expensive laser radars that scan the surroundings of vehicles. This approach is controversial among experts. In the past, accidents have occurred after “autopilot” cameras were blinded by the sun – while drivers relied too heavily on the technology. It is unclear whether Musk wants the robotaxis to continue driving only with cameras.
Plans for inexpensive electric cars buried?
According to insiders, Tesla has abandoned its plan to build an affordable electric car for the mass market. Two people familiar with the plans told the news agency Reuters, they found out about the decision in a meeting with employees. One of the insiders said the meeting took place at the end of February.
Musk’s instructions are now to rely entirely on robotaxis. Even the insiders would not know all the reasons for the decision. But the about-face comes at a time when Tesla is facing fierce competition worldwide from rivals from China, some of whom are flooding the market with cars for as little as $10,000.
Tesla did not initially respond to a request for comment. After publication of the Reutersreport, Musk wrote on his short message platform X “Reuters is lying (again)” without elaborating further.
Musk has repeatedly stated for years that Tesla wants to build affordable electric cars for the masses. His first “master plan” from 2006 called for first producing luxury models and then using the profits to finance an “inexpensive family car”. The currently cheapest Tesla model, the Model 3 sedan, costs around $39,000 in the USA. The “cheap” model, sometimes called “Model 2,” should start at around $25,000. Musk only said in January that Tesla wanted to start production of this model in Texas in the second half of 2025.
According to experts, relying on robotaxis is risky. The implementation of the driverless robot project could take longer, mean a greater technical challenge and a greater risk in terms of official approval. An insider said the new robotaxi plans would involve building them in significantly smaller numbers than the initially planned Model 2.
Tesla had recently worked for years on the development of its Cybertruck, an expensive electric pickup. During this time, manufacturers from China have moved forward with affordable electric cars, captured market shares and achieved economies of scale. They offer prices that western car manufacturers find difficult to compete with.
The plans for the affordable Tesla were seen as key to realizing Musk’s sales growth ambitions. In 2020 he said that Tesla wanted to sell 20 million vehicles per year by 2030 – twice as many as the world’s largest car manufacturer Toyota. If the Model 2 is not built, it would be more open than ever how Musk wants to achieve his goal.
According to a Tesla email from March 1st, the Reuters A manager thanked the project’s technical staff for their efforts and encouraged them to document their findings.
Tesla’s sales are particularly weak in Germany
Tesla has had bigger problems in Germany for a long time than on the global market. This is shown by sales figures from the automotive industry portal Marklines, which are available to Spiegel. Accordingly, Tesla sold fewer cars in 2023 than in the previous year – bucking the trend in other European e-car markets.
While Tesla delivered 69,900 cars in Germany in 2022, it was only 63,600 in 2023. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, Tesla quadrupled its sales in 2023 to 19,600 cars. With 63,100 models sold, France almost overtook Germany as the largest Tesla sales market in Europe. The car manufacturer increased its sales worldwide by a third in 2023, but they only collapsed in the first quarter of 2024. The extent of the weakness in this country is surprising, especially since the overall German market for electric cars was still growing in 2023.
Germany’s market leader, the VW Group, increased its sales from 120,200 to 146,800 electric cars in 2023 with subsidiaries such as Audi, Škoda and Seat. In 2024, Tesla sales will continue to slide: In January and February, the electric car manufacturer, which operates its only European factory in Grünheide near Berlin, only sold 9,200 vehicles. In the same period last year there were 11,900.
The federal government’s decision to cancel the purchase bonus for electric cars in mid-December cannot alone explain Tesla’s decline in sales at the beginning of the year. Other manufacturers increased their sales in Germany at the same time.