Tesla ‘delays’ controversial flagship AI project amid ‘redesign’ scramble after Musk slams ‘lies’ about car
TESLA has reportedly delayed its flagship AI project amid a scramble to ‘redesign’ the product.
The unveiling of the new autonomous vehicle has apparently been pushed back by two months just weeks out from the initial reveal date.
According to Bloomberg, the Tesla ‘robotaxi’ was set to be shown off next month but has now been delayed until October.
The self-driving taxi is intended as a “combination of Airbnb and Uber” which would allow customers to hail cars rented out by owners to ferry them to their destination.
This feature would be incorporated into the Tesla app and be accessible to users “whenever they want”.
Customers would also apparently be able to decide if they want the car to only be used by friends and family or to open it up to strangers based on in-app rankings.
Owners will be able to withdraw the vehicle from the market at any time, just as homeowners can with Airbnb rentals.
However, designers at the EV giant have reportedly been asked to redesign the model, pushing the unveiling back from August 8.
The project attracted controversy when it was reported that Tesla had scrapped the development of a sub-£25,000 Model 2 in favour of the autonomous vehicle.
Reuters reported at the time that the Model 2 platform would be used as the basis for the cybercab.
But this was fiercely denied by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who slammed the report as “lies”.
He later clarified that the company had “accelerated the launch of new models.”
The X owner added: “These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will use aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.
It comes after Musk mocked rival tech boss Mark Zuckerberg over the Facebook boss’ unusual Fourth of July post.
Meanwhile, one of Tesla’s models was offered at a price that was really “too good to be true” after a bizarre website glitch.
SunMotors has contacted Tesla for comment.