Tesla is gearing up for its Robotaxi launch on October 10, which will take place at Warner Bros. Studio, and currently uses cars (normal) around the world to map the area.
But one of the vehicles, photographed last night by a crew member, stands out – and stands out because it appears to be the most camouflaged version of the Robotaxi ever seen before.
The photo was taken and originally posted by u/boopitysmopp on reddit. It shows an oddly shaped, bright yellow car on what appears to be a Warner Bros. lot, leading another Tesla. It appears to be passing by the clothing store and heading toward “Warner Village,” a fake street of townhouses.
The yellow color appears to be a car cover attached to the car, along with additional pieces of bodywork to hide the shape of the car's body. Instead of hiding zebra-like stripe patterns like cars usually do, Tesla seems to have fun with it and makes a car that looks like a cartoon.
While the photo was taken at night far away, so it's noisy, we can still tell a little from it.
/boopitysmopp also said the rear has a Cybertruck-like taillight that spans the entire back of the car, but they didn't get a picture of it. They were also asked if there was a steering wheel, and they replied that they did not know. Although, by improving the display of the image, it seems that there is something like a steering column near the driver's seat.
Overall, the hidden prototype looks very similar to the Robotaxi concept we saw, which we used for the featured image of this article. Standard shape with low nose and swept windshield/rear end all probably seen in the hidden car.
There's a big box… thing in the back, but that looks like Tesla bolted a box to the back of the car to make it stand out.
It also looks smaller than the car behind it, although it's hard to tell from the photo. Rumors suggest that the Robotaxi will be a 2-door, 2-seater car, and the small size would fit this. /boopitysmopp described the car as “small,” which is consistent with this observation.
The final prototype – if what's under the hood is the version Tesla intends to release – probably doesn't look good. indeed as the mind gives, to what we see. For example, the rear end may be flat, once you remove the box shape from the rear… but some regular lines seem to be there.
(Actually, it looks like if the box is removed, it might look like a Ute, which is popular in Australia. But that doesn't sound right, given the concept and purpose of the car…)
The hidden Robotaxi also has strangely black wheels, and it's hard to make out the design in the picture. Maybe the car was just moving at the time (albeit in a stationary position, and the rear doesn't move), or maybe the Robotaxi's wheels look solid, like the concept drawing above.
Is that a LiDAR bump? (*probably not)
Another feature the prototype sports that has been seen is a small bump near the center of the roof, at the top edge of the windshield. While this could be a visible artifact or part of the camouflage, it could also be a “LiDAR bump” – which can be very interesting indeed.
There are various ways that cars incorporate LiDAR into their designs, but one of the most popular ways is to go with a bump on the top of the windshield, somewhat reminiscent of a taxi sign collision. Placing the LiDAR higher up increases visibility compared to placing it lower on the bumper.
If it's a LiDAR bump, this would be a big move, as Tesla has consistently said over the years that LiDAR is not needed for autonomous operation. Tesla has always focused on vision-only or vision-plus-radar, always taking the position that LiDAR sensors are too expensive.
There may also be some doubt that other Tesla vehicles, which Tesla has been saying has fully self-driving hardware since 2016, will ever get that promised capability. Tesla has been backtracking on these promises (which he made anyway and owes to his customers) recently, maybe he finally saw the end of the vision… .
But, one thing we do know this time: Tesla is testing something like Robotaxi, at Warner Bros., where a lot of people with cameras work, so we expect to see more along these lines, maybe in full daylight, very soon.
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