7:50 am, April 9, 2022
Tesla boss Elon Musk announced it will build a vehicle dedicated for use as a robotaxi and will start making three new vehicles next year.
The announcement came at a party to celebrate the opening of Tesla’s new Texas factory.
He gave no details of the robotaxi other than to say it will ‘look quite futuristic’.
Tesla and Musk have often missed targets to start producing vehicles. In 2019, he promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis would be on the road the following year, but the company’s Full Self-Driving software is still being tested by selected Tesla owners on public roads.
Musk added that Tesla will start building the Cybertruck pick-up at its new factory near Austin, Texas, next year – four years after it was first announced.
After that it will start building a new Roadster and an electric truck, six years after it was first revealed in 2017.
He made his remarks on Thursday night at the Cyber Rodeo at Giga Texas, an invitation-only party for thousands of guests at Tesla’s new billion-dollar-plus factory.
As many as 15,000 people were expected to attend the private event hosted to mark the opening of the new factory in Travis County that also serves as the company’s new headquarters following its move from California.
Musk said at the event streamed live on YouTube that Tesla was delivering the first Model Ys built at the new factory, which he said can make a half million of the small SUVs per year.
