In just over 20 days, Tesla will face its most important moment since the launch of the Model 3 — the highly anticipated unveiling of its Robotaxi, a fully autonomous taxi service. After delays and setbacks, Tesla has set the date for October 10th, with the event to be held at Warner Bros. Studios in the Los Angeles area.
At a time when sales of electric vehicles are slowing, and global markets are fluctuating, Tesla is in dire need of a game-changing product — not only to boost its stock price but also to secure its lead in the second half of the race for smart mobility.
Both the market and Tesla have high expectations for the upcoming launch, and fans are eagerly scouring for any hints.
Recently, a heavily camouflaged vehicle was spotted at Warner Bros. Studios, followed by a Tesla model, sparking speculation that this could be the Robotaxi. The vehicle, with its design and shape, bears a striking resemblance to Tesla’s soon-to-be-revealed Cybercab. While Tesla has yet to release any official information, eagle-eyed fans are already buzzing with excitement.
01. Is the Tesla Robotaxi on its way?
Let’s start with this leaked image:
The photo was taken at Warner Bros. Studios in the Los Angeles area, where a uniquely shaped, heavily camouflaged small vehicle was spotted among a Tesla convoy. (You can see a Tesla right behind the small car.)
Now, let’s take a closer look at its design. This vehicle features a two-door, two-seat layout, with its body covered in yellow tape and a few fake body panels. The whole design looks rather unusual, and based on the space, it seems to accommodate two adults.
At the rear, there’s a box-like protrusion, resembling a large container stacked behind the car, providing ample storage space. Interestingly, the rear wheels are noticeably larger than the front ones.
Some foreign media have reported that this vehicle uses a similar elongated taillight design to the Cybertruck.
The dimensions and design closely resemble the Robotaxi concept sketches revealed in Walter Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk. This has led many Tesla fans to speculate that this mysterious little yellow car could very well be the physical form of Tesla's autonomous taxi — the Cybercab.
Although the photo was taken from a distance, after increasing the exposure, it becomes clear that there is a steering wheel in the driver's seat, along with something resembling a steering column nearby. There’s also a protrusion in the center of the roof, but it's still unclear whether this is part of the camouflage or a lidar sensor.
During the last delay, Elon Musk explained that the reason was due to significant modifications being made to the vehicle, as well as the need to showcase other developments. According to the plan, Tesla's autonomous taxi will be produced at the Texas Gigafactory using a new 'boxless' manufacturing strategy, which is expected to dramatically reduce costs and factory space, cutting production costs by half and reducing the footprint by 40%.
So far, there has been no official response. However, coincidentally, foreign media have reported that the Tesla team has already been scouting the location and mapping the area for the event. This adds some credibility to the rumors, especially since the source is not just anyone. His name is Matthew Donegan-Ryan, who, according to his bio, is a Cybertruck news insider and owns 14 Tesla vehicles.
He’s also a personal shareholder in Tesla and was invited to attend Tesla's Investor Day in 2023. He frequently shares updates about Tesla and has even been interviewed by domestic media.
02. Autonomous Charging and Self-Cleaning?
As the October 10th event approaches, not only have potential vehicles started to surface, but several technologies that could be featured in Tesla's Robotaxi have been frequently revealed. Judging by these leaked patents, Tesla's Robotaxi might indeed be packed with some cutting-edge innovations.
First up is fully autonomous wireless charging, which would allow the Robotaxi to operate seamlessly around the clock.
A few days ago, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published four new patents submitted by Tesla, all related to vehicle wireless charging pad technology. These patents cover not only wireless charging design specifications but also include a temperature sensor for the wireless charging system, a short-circuit switch to reduce ground leakage in inductive charging, as well as wireless charging circuit topologies and related manufacturing methods.
In summary, these technologies create a wireless charging environment where the vehicle can transfer energy via an internal induction coil to a wireless charging pad on the ground, enabling automatic charging without human intervention.
It’s worth mentioning that Tesla hinted at the development of wireless charging pads during last year's Investor Day and went on to acquire a wireless charging company called “Wiferion” in July of the same year. Although Tesla later sold the company, it retained many of the key engineers behind the technology.
The timing of these patent releases is intriguing, suggesting these innovations might debut in the Robotaxi on October 10th, enabling fully autonomous energy replenishment. This level of automation means Tesla is aiming to fully automate the Robotaxi’s entire operational process—from driving to charging—greatly improving both efficiency and the vehicle’s practicality. Not only that, but Tesla's Robotaxi might also be able to wash itself. Tesla has filed a patent specifically for the Robotaxi, covering a technology for automatic disinfection and cleaning of enclosed spaces.
According to the patent, Tesla's Robotaxi would include built-in sensors that gather data to allow the onboard computer to initiate a series of "sanitation procedures" to disinfect the entire vehicle or specific areas like seats, touchscreens, or dashboards. For instance, it could emit infrared and ultraviolet light at certain wavelengths, and also use the air conditioning system to raise cabin temperatures to eliminate certain viruses. The vehicle could even produce "disinfectant vapor" when the sensors detect it’s necessary.
Additionally, the sensors can detect pathogens and then direct specific "disinfecting light" onto the surface of the pathogen. They can even detect when a passenger sneezes or coughs and, based on the data, the air conditioning system could blow the droplets outside the vehicle.
Typically, this disinfection process would start immediately after passengers exit, minimizing downtime between potential passengers. Interestingly, if a deep clean is required, the system could autonomously drive the vehicle to a designated cleaning facility, where it would undergo automatic cleaning using infrared lighting, contact heating, or steam. Meanwhile, another vehicle would be dispatched to the next passenger.
Furthermore, Tesla has also hinted at a potential design that might be used in the Robotaxi. Tesla submitted a consultation request to the Australian National Transport Commission, proposing the concept of vehicles with rotating seats, allowing passengers to adjust the seat direction as needed in autonomous driving mode.
The application states: "We believe that responsibility should not be determined based on how the vehicle is controlled or the seat is designed. We are concerned that overly conservative regulations could hinder design innovation for higher levels of automation."
Currently, car seats, especially for the driver and front passenger, are designed to face the road, but Tesla argues that with the advent of fully autonomous vehicles—where human drivers no longer need to constantly supervise the driving process—this design could be flexible.
Tesla suggests that, with appropriate safety measures, fully reclining or rotating seats, or even vehicle designs without forward-facing seats, are conceivable. A design with just a central seating arrangement is also foreseeable.
According to Musk’s vision for the Robotaxi, it may not have pedals, a steering wheel, or traditional controls like rearview mirrors, so the idea of rotating seats seems perfectly logical.
