Tesla Robotaxi prototype reportedly spotted in California
- Tesla’s Robotaxi has been in the works for a while now
- A photo reportedly of its prototype has been shared to Reddit
- It comes after reports of a Tesla fleet seen at Warner Brothers’ Burbank studio
Published on Sep 16, 2024 at 2:09 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Sep 16, 2024 at 4:39 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A heavily camouflaged Tesla Robotaxi may have been spotted at Warner Brother Studios in California.
The image of what appeared to be a Tesla Model Y was shared to Reddit.
Tesla has not confirmed that the car will be launched at the Burbank studio.
However, there have been reports online that the company is doing ‘extensive data collection activities’ in the nearby area, as reported by Teslarati.
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Why did Reddit users think this car was a Robotaxi?
On the Tesla subreddit, one user reported that a fleet of Teslas had been driving around the Warner Brothers Studio.
This was confirmed by another user who reportedly works in the area.
It was this user who shared the image of a Tesla disguised in bright yellow wrap and fake body panels.
Others quickly noted that the car bore a striking resemblance to the Robotaxi concept image that was shared in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk.
The image featured in Isaacson’s 2023 book was of a two-seater vehicle with storage room in the back.
This seems to line up with the car in the circulating image, which has two doors and enough space for two adults.
There are also larger wheels at the vehicle’s rear, with tail lights that don’t look too dissimilar from the Cybertruck’s.
When is this new vehicle being released?
Tesla has been teasing their Robotaxi for quite a while now.
Back in May, they shared a promotional video to X, in which a design was shown.
At the time, it was due to be unveiled in August but that did not come to fruition.
It is now being reported that the self-driving taxi will get its big debut in October.
In recent weeks, both Musk and Tesla have been keeping hush-hush about new developments.
As it stands, it remains to be seen whether or not the Robotaxi will be an October Surprise, so to speak.
Tesla isn’t the only company considering a driverless cab service. Google has already rolled out Waymo in the Californian cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, Arizona.
It’s pretty trippy being in the backseat of an empty car, as this POV video demonstrated.
