A new biography of Elon Musk will be published soon, however, an excerpt has already been released, revealing that Tesla's new compact model was actually intended to be a "robotaxi". The fact that it will be equipped with a steering wheel and pedals apparently took a lot of convincing by the engineers.
The planned compact model will be based on Tesla's new platform and will be sold for around 25,000 US dollars (just under 23,300 euros). According to Walter Isaacson's biography, it is to be built in Giga Texas, a decision that, according to the book excerpt, was already made in May 2023.
This production will initially take place in Texas and not in the new factory in Mexico, because Musk's workplace and that of his top engineers are right next to a new, highly automated high-speed assembly line in the Texas factory. A fact that Musk's bio insists was very important.
“That way, engineers could get instant feedback on how to design innovations that would both improve the car and make it easier to manufacture,” Isaacson writes.
This decision is also not surprising in another respect: the latest rumors are that the Giga Mexico may not be ready until 2026 or 2027, which also supports this change of plans.
But back to the Robotaxi - because it is definitely coming, albeit at a later date. It uses the same vehicle platform and assembly lines as the new compact model. As soon as self-driving cars are allowed in large numbers and Tesla's Autopilot software FSD is ready, there will be a variant without a steering wheel and pedals. Chief designer Franz von Holzhausen spoke in favor of not immediately (and not exclusively) producing an autonomous electric car.
The excerpt states:
“We want to make sure we are assessing the risk with you,” Tesla’s longtime chief designer Franz von Holzhausen told Musk. “If we go down a path of having no steering wheel, and FSD is not ready, we won’t be able to put them on the road.” He suggested they make a car with a steering wheel and pedals that could be easily removed. “Basically our proposal is to bake them in right now but remove them when we are allowed to.”
Elon Musk was apparently not convinced, responding:
“No,” Musk said. “No. NO.” There was a long pause. “No mirrors, no pedals, no steering wheel. This is me taking responsibility for this decision.” The executives sitting around the table hesitated. “Uh, we will come back to you on that.”
In the end, however, the Tesla CEO was persuaded to change his mind. The reason (or one of the reasons) was probably that Musk himself had teased a new compact model in 2020 and that even if autonomous vehicles were approved in the US, it could still be years before they were also on the road internationally.
“We convinced him that if we build these factories and we have this platform, we could churn out both Robotaxis and a $25,000 car, all on the same vehicle architecture,” the author quotes von Holzhausen.
The biography ‘Elon Musk’ will be published on 12 September and spans 688 pages. Author Walter Isaacson is already known for his biographies of Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs.
Source: Axios
