Tesla robotaxi event comes after Musk missed deadlines for years | Wilnesh News

and Tesla’s With just hours to go until the highly anticipated robotaxi event, investors will soon get a glimpse of what CEO Elon Musk calls CyberCab.

For a decade, Tesla has failed to deliver on its promise to deliver self-driving cars that can safely travel reasonable distances without a human behind the wheel, but there have been questions about Tesla’s technological capabilities and how its self-driving taxis can be used. There was a lot of skepticism when it came to actually entering the market.

The RoboTaxi Day or “We, the Robots” event is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm PT at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, and will be broadcast live on X.

CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson warned in an Oct. 4 preview that conditions at movie studios in closed locations could make Tesla robotaxis appear smaller than they would in normal traffic and on public roads. More advanced. CFRA has a hold rating on the stock.

Tesla shares fell about 1% to $238.77 on Thursday. Currently, shares are down nearly 4% this year and are more than 40% below the record set in 2021.

A week ago, Tesla announced that it delivered 462,890 vehicles in the third quarter, and its annual delivery volume increased to 1.35 million vehicles. Tesla reported that it delivered 1.81 million vehicles last year.

Bullish analysts at firms including Wedbush, ARK and RBC Capital Markets expressed optimism in reports about the company’s ability to maintain long-term sales growth while delivering high-tech products including long-delayed self-driving cars, humanoid robots and other artificial intelligence products .

Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Wednesday that he will attend the event and hopes to test robotaxis.

Munster, a long-time Tesla bull, said he believes the company will have robotaxis available in some cities by the end of 2025. A stripped-down version and an electric van.

He said that while he expects the stock to fall after the event, it could “reach new highs” over the next two years as deliveries begin to accelerate.

Tesla was once seen as a pioneer in the development of self-driving cars, but has never successfully delivered or demonstrated robotaxi technology. The company is now considered a laggard.

alphabetical America’s Waymo and a number of Chinese companies currently operate commercial robotaxi services.

Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report on Wednesday that if Tesla can launch a “Level 4″ robotaxi, meaning it can operate without a driver behind the wheel, using its current ” hardware and software suite,” which will result in a cost-per-mile advantage over peers.

In addition to missing the deadline, there are safety issues with Tesla’s driver-assist system, which is currently sold as a standard Autopilot and Advanced Full Self-Driving (supervised) option.

Missy Cummings, a professor at George Mason University and director of the Mason Center for Autonomy and Robotics, said Tesla leaders should be able to explain how they are solving the “phantom braking” problem in ADAS-equipped vehicles. The situation occurs when the brakes are applied unexpectedly even when driving on the highway and there are no visible obstacles around.

Tesla’s phantom braking problem is a problem ongoing investigation Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “If they can’t solve the problem of phantom braking in Level 2 cars, they can’t solve the problem in Level 4 or Level 5 cars,” Cummings, a former senior safety adviser to the regulator, told CNBC. Level 2 vehicles include driver assistance systems .

According to data National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Tracking Since 2021, there have been 1,399 accidents in which Tesla driver assistance systems were activated within 30 seconds of an accident, 31 of which resulted in fatalities.

Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid said Musk or other Tesla executives should be able to say exactly how they plan to make their vehicles operate in different weather conditions, such as fog, rain, snow and lighting, or in dark tunnels .

He also wants Tesla executives to say whether they are willing to take full responsibility for the operation of the vehicles, which he calls “a real bet on robotaxis without human control.”

Finally, Abusamid wanted to know whether Tesla plans to own and operate its robotaxis or lease or sell them to consumers and fleet operators.

“Many companies are making progress in self-driving technology,” Abusamid said. “But they’re hesitant when it comes to finding a business model that can be profitable. Tesla has a lot of challenges to overcome, and I wonder how all the pieces fall into place.”

watch: It will be another five years before we see Tesla launch a Waymo-like vehicle