Tesla is expected to reveal its long-promised robotaxi on August 8, Elon Musk, the head of the company, has announced via a post on X. It will be built on Tesla’s next-generation vehicle platform.

The problem is that Musk has been promising a Tesla robotaxi for long. He announced a Robotaxi Network in 2019, which was going to be a network of self-driving Teslas that you would be able to hire through an app like an Uber or Lyft. It was going to launch in 2020 and revolutionise ride share and auto ownership. Musk back then said: “I feel very confident predicting autonomous Robotaxis for Tesla next year.” He promised a million Robotaxis on the road and that too full self-driving.

He also said: “A fundamental message that consumers should be taking today is that it’s financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla. It would be like owning a horse in three years. I mean, fine if you own a horse but you should go into it with that expectation. If you buy a car that does not have the hardware necessary for self-driving, it is like buying a horse.”

Critics have argued that Musk overstates the capabilities of self-driving technology. There have been several crashes involving Tesla vehicles using FSD and Autopilot. The company is facing numerous wrongful death lawsuits.

A number of companies, including Waymo as well as GM subsidiary Cruise are working on autonomous ride-sharing services. Waymo recently had to recall its own cars after two of its cars hit the same tow truck within minutes of one another.