Elon Musk says Tesla will unveil new robotaxis in August - 5 years after promising a self-driving fleet

Billionaire mogul and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that his company's long-rumored, fully automated taxi service will arrive later this summer 

'Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8,' Musk posted to his social media platform X, the beleaguered site once known as Twitter, which Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022.

The announcement comes amid swelling customer dissatisfaction with the roll-out of Tesla's futuristic-looking new electric vehicle (EV), the Cybertruck, which has faced numerous safety and performance complaints from early adopters and fans.  

But Musk also made similar 'robotaxi' promises five years ago this month, at a Tesla investors' day held at the EV-maker's Palo Alto, California headquarters.

Musk told investors at that April 2019 event that he was 'very confident' Tesla would have its autonomous robotaxis on the road as soon as that next year, 2020.

The billionaire tech mogul then showed off a Tesla ride-sharing app.

'Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8,' Tesla mogul Elon Musk posted to his social media platform X

But Musk made similar promises five years ago this month, at Tesla's Autonomy Day with investors at the electric vehicle-maker's Palo Alto, California headquarters. Above, Musk photographed getting into a Tesla outside of a hotel in Beijing, China

In April 2019, Musk said he was 'very confident' Tesla would have autonomous 'robo-taxis' on the road as soon as 2020. Above, Musk in 2019 shows off a mock up of Tesla's ride-sharing app

Musk said Tesla began developing full self-driving technology in 2016 with the idea of launching a ride-share service.

It would operate by reclaiming leased Model 3s from consumers once their contract expires, then re-purposing those vehicles for the new ride-sharing service.

In doing so, Musk said that Tesla believed it could quickly scale the number of robotaxis to approximately one million in operation by 2020. 

Musk then compared the Tesla Network to a combination between Uber and Airbnb. 

The company, he said at the 2019 event, would then plant to take between 25 and 30 percent of revenue generated per ride in the Tesla Network.

It's unclear what aspects of this proposal remain intact five years later, or how credible Musk's August 8, 2024 debut date will prove to be. 

Musk's announcement via X on Friday came mere hours after a Reuters exposé revealed the billionaire's plans to override Tesla's design team, who had previously convinced him to develop an economical EV at a $25,000 price point.

The 'half price' electric car was due to go into production starting next year, and was viewed by investors as the saving grace that could rescue the struggling automaker.

Musk joking about Tesla robotaxi's lucky symbolism with a fan on his social site X

Tesla's share price fell more than 5 percent, following the Reuters piece Friday, but gradually started to recover. The company's stock is one of the worst performing in the S&P 500 this year.

Earlier this week too, Tesla's share price took tumble as well, after it was reported that the company fell well short of delivery estimates for the first quarter of 2024.

Competition has also ramped up with Chinese rivals like BYD, an electric vehicle maker that started its corporate life as a battery maker in the mid-1990s. 

BYD has recently launched an ultra-affordable, consumer EV in China, at a starting price of $10,000.

Apparently joking with his fans on the social media site he now owns, Musk noted on X that the August 8, 8/8, unveiling date was not only the luckiest number in Chinese culture, but that Tesla's robotaxis would be launching in the 'year of the Dragon.'