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Musk expected to showcase robotaxi prototype, ride-hailing

app

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Investors seek robotaxi production timeline, business plan

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Progress on humanoid robots, cheaper versions of its EVs

awaited

By Abhirup Roy and Akash Sriram

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Tesla is set to unveil its

long-promised robotaxi in Hollywood late on Thursday and update

investors on artificial intelligence projects, efforts CEO Elon

Musk has bet will drive the electric vehicle maker's long-term

growth.

Enthusiasm around the event has been on display across

social media, with screenshots of invites and speculation on

what might be disclosed. But investors and analysts have flagged

challenges with the technology and reined in expectations.

Musk's plan is to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla

taxis called Cybercabs that passengers can hail through an app.

Individual Tesla owners will also be able to make money on the

app by listing their vehicles as robotaxis.

Thursday's event at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles,

California, is titled "We, Robot" - an apparent nod to the "I,

Robot" science-fiction short stories by American writer Isaac

Asimov, but also echoes Musk's insistence that Tesla "should be

thought of as an AI robotics company" rather than an automaker.

Those attending will include investors, stock analysts and

Tesla fans. Topping their list of questions will be how quickly

can Tesla ramp up robotaxi production, at what cost, and,

crucially, how much money it can make from the taxi business.

Eyes will also be on progress the company has made with the

partial automation software it markets as Full Self-Driving that

company watchers expect to underpin its robotaxis.

Musk could also give details on cheaper versions of Tesla's

current EVs as well as updates on its humanoid robot Optimus.

MISSED PROMISES

Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would

have operational robotaxis by the next year. After missed

promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the

vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car

widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand.

Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in

deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract

enough customers to its aging EV lineup. Steep price cuts meant

to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins.

To convince investors that Tesla can keep up the blistering

pace of growth it reported several quarters back, analysts said

Musk needs to show a prototype and provide detailed plans on how

Tesla can overtake rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo,

which operates uncrewed robotaxis ferrying paying passengers in

a few U.S. cities.

Complicated technology and tight regulation have led to

billion of dollars in loss for other companies attempting to

crack the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut shop.

Some are still pushing, including General Motors' ( GM )

Cruise, Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox and Chinese firms such as WeRide.

Unlike expensive hardware such as lidar that others use,

Musk is relying only on cameras and AI to run FSD to keep costs

down. But FSD, which requires constant driver attention, has

faced regulatory and legal scrutiny with at least two fatal

accidents involving the technology.