Musk says he will delay release of self-driving cabs due to changes to car's front design
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Monday, July 16, that the company will need more time to release its self-driving cabs because it will need to change significant design changes to the front of the vehicle and show off other elements.
Though Musk did not reveal a specific date for the press conference. It was reported last week that the event, originally scheduled for Aug. 8, had been pushed back to October.
Musk responded to a user discussing the press conference event on his social media platform X: "I asked for a change in what I think is a very important design, and the extension will allow us to show other features."
A person familiar with the matter revealed on Friday that the self-driving cab press conference had been postponed, but did not provide further details.
Engineering and regulatory challenges abound in the development of self-driving cabs and autonomous driving systems. As a result, Wall Street analysts and Tesla investors believe the delay in the self-driving cab press conference is not surprising.
After reports surfaced on April 5 that Tesla had canceled its long-promised low-cost models, Musk announced that he would release the self-driving cabs in August and said the company would continue to develop them on the same small car platform.
So far, Musk has given few details about the self-driving cabs. He has only revealed that some vehicles will be owned and operated by Tesla, while others belong to individuals and can be rented out on Tesla's online platform. Tesla's stock market surged Monday after Musk publicly endorsed Donald Trump's bid for the U.S. presidency. Investors are hoping Trump will take office to help Tesla more easily get regulatory approval for self-driving cabs and systems.
Musk said in 2022 that Tesla expects to be able to mass-produce self-driving cabs without steering wheels or pedals by 2024, even though he's talked about achieving the goal of self-driving cars many times before.
Tesla shares rose 1.78 percent to close at $252.64 per share on Monday.
