- A Tesla employee posted a video of the ride-hailing platform on LinkedIn, following an earlier teaser.
- The video shows an employee requesting a car through the app, adjusting settings, and then getting in.
- Elon Musk said Tesla will officially unveil its robotaxi at an event on August 8.
With just under two months until Tesla's Robotaxi launch, we've got an early glimpse at the ride-hailing platform that's expected to be powered by autonomous vehicles.
Rosalie Nathans, whose profile describes her as a senior manager of used vehicles and online sales at Tesla, shared a video of the ride-hailing experience in a LinkedIn post on Saturday, which she said is “coming soon.”
“I still can't believe I got to demo Tesla's ride-hailing platform!” she wrote.
In the video, Nathans can be seen calling for service on the app by pressing a black and white circle that says “Call.” Within seconds, the app displayed a map of cars within three minutes of her pickup location, along with the number of seats in the cars and their temperatures. In the video, Nathans can be seen adjusting the temperature in her car before it arrives.
Once inside, the video shows a map of her route appearing on the center screen, above her likely arrival time, the number of minutes until arrival, and the number of miles to her destination. The display also appears to show the interior temperature, audio volume, and the song currently playing, with options for passengers to customize it to their own preferences.
At first glance, it looks a lot like Uber or Lyft, but the video doesn't show a human driver.
Nathans did not respond to a request for comment.
Her video is the best look yet at Elon Musk's vision for a self-driving car service that could one day allow Tesla owners to earn extra money by adding their own cars to their fleets, which the Tesla CEO has previously said could earn them around $30,000 a year.
In a lengthy video about Tesla's goals posted to X in late May, the electric-car maker teased what a ride-hailing service might look like, with a caption urging shareholders to vote at the company's annual meeting on proposals including Musk's $55 billion compensation package and a move of the company's headquarters to Texas, both of which were approved at the meeting last week.
Tesla's full self-driving software is still in beta, but it's the foundational software the company is working on to enable a standalone Tesla robotaxi service.
The software, which would cost Tesla owners $15,000, or $100-200 a month, requires constant monitoring of drivers and is subject to regulatory oversight. LitigationIt will be able to change lanes, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, park automatically, and even enter highways without direct driver input.
Robotaxis have become a big priority for the EV giant. Reuters reported the company was pivoting away from cheaper, $25,000 EVs to focus on robotaxis, but Musk denied that. The Tesla CEO has touted for years that FSD could be a key pillar of Tesla's valuation, saying in 2021 that “the day FSD is widely available will be one of the biggest asset appreciations in history.”
Tesla hasn't revealed many details about this. What will a robotaxi look like?According to Musk biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk has previously expressed a desire to do away with mirrors, pedals and a steering wheel.
Musk said in April: Tesla Robotaxi to be unveiled on August 8th.
