Tesla's robotaxi event was long on Musk promises. Investors wanted more details.

[groundloop]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Reuters

For a businessman who perpetually struggles with broken promises, Elon Musk gave himself quite a to-do list Thursday night at Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis.

[....]

Musk said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - which he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks."

Later came the dancing humanoid robots that also mixed drinks at the bar, which Musk said Tesla will also eventually sell for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. "I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind," he declared.

Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan with a solid business plan.



Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-robotaxi-event-was-long-promises-investors-wanted-more-details-2024-10-11/

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Further down in the article it's indicated that Tesla is cutting corners on sensor and camera technology, Tesla software is several years behind Google's Waymo, and that the Tesla system will make it nearly impossible for investigators to pinpoint the cause of a crash or other failure.

[CaptainTruth]

1. "solid business plan"?

They'll never get that from Musk.

[swong19104]

2. Anyone can make a decent mixed drink

and my preferred choice of drinks are quite simple to pour. We don't want some robot doing it. We want someone we can chat with, joke with, bounce ideas with, commiserate with. Someone who can scan the room and check out the creeps who might spike our drinks with rohypnol or whatever; make a quick nod to the bouncer and get some drunk-ass loser tossed out.

[Miguelito Loveless]

3. What I saw of the event

was people grinning like idiots and waving at Disenyesque quality robots not doing anything that Boston Dynamics hasn't already done.

[lapfog_1]

5. or Sony did some 20 years ago

Boston dynamics has moved on from robots that dance.

[highplainsdem]

4. GD thread with full video of the unveiling:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219556537

[moniss]

6. It looked awful and the van looked like

a giant 4 slice toaster without handles or a cord. Once again it was a promise of price and a date. Given his track record with those kinds of promises it is reasonable to expect around double the cost and triple if not longer how far in the future anything will happen.

[Omaha Steve]

7. AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING

This is his marketing hype plus analysis.

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