Tesla’s Robotaxi event is coming up later today, and there’s lots of hype. It’s absolutely going to be a must-see event, so we’ve outlined how you can watch it tonight.
If you weren’t one of the lucky lottery winners who managed to snag a ticket, there are a few ways to watch the Robotaxi event.
When
Tesla says the event will start at 10 PM EST or 7 PM PST. However, expect it to start fashionably late as usual. The agenda Tesla has provided is below.
Watch Live
The event is expected to be available on X, YouTube, and Tesla’s website. The links for X and YouTube are below. We’ll update this as the day goes along and Tesla adds additional sources.
This is the agenda Tesla has provided. All times are PST.
3:00 PM: Parking Lot Opens
5:00 PM: Doors Open
5:30 PM: Check-In Begins
7:00 PM: Remarks
Watch in Tesla Showrooms
Tesla is also running events at its local showrooms worldwide. Many of these pop-up events have been organized by the Tesla showrooms or in conjunction with local Tesla Owner’s Club groups.
You can go to Tesla’s Events Page here and see if there are any showrooms open in your region. These events are in-person, and a good way to hang out with local Tesla fans and owners to watch one of the biggest events in Tesla’s history. If you don’t see an event listed, try calling your local Tesla showroom or contacting your local Owner’s Club. Other events may be running locally that you could attend.
A rendering of what the Tesla app may look like with the Tesla Diner added
Not a Tesla App
Tesla has been planning to create its own drive-in diner with Superchargers since at least 2022, when it filed paperwork for the one-of-kind supercharger location. In 2023, Tesla’s then Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, said during a presentation that you "can't forget to do cool s***."
The slide presentation showed off an illustration of a retro-looking Tesla Diner restaurant with a rooftop patio and an old-school drive-in movie screen behind it. People could be seen lining up to get inside, hinting that whatever the restaurant serves is worth the wait.
Since then, Tesla has begun and practically completed the construction of its Tesla Diner project. The location includes two 45-foot outdoor LED screens that will play short films, and it’ll also serve food up to 77 guests while their vehicle is being charged.
As the completion of the diner approaches, Tesla has now revealed several other bits of information in the latest Tesla app update. Thanks to a decompile by Tesla app iOS, we see that Tesla’s diner will closely tie in with the Tesla app itself.
Integrated With the Tesla App
Several phrases were found in Tesla’s latest app update, which includes things like show_diner, Diner Home Screen, profile_settings_diner_description, and View menu & amenities. It sounds like you’ll be able to view the diner’s menu directly from the Tesla app, but if we had to guess, there will be a lot more to it than that.
Following Tesla’s seamless integration with Superchargers, we expect the diner experience to be similar. You may soon be able to order food directly from the app and have it charged automatically to your card on file, letting you skip the payment portion completely.
Since Tesla knows which Supercharger stall you’re connected to, we also expect Tesla to take full advantage of this and bring the food directly to your vehicle without you needing to specify your location. So imagine this, you’ll pull up to a Supercharger and plug it in.
Tesla Diner UI
An image was also found in the app update that hints at where the Tesla Diner options will be located. The image found is the same ratio and similar size to other images found in the main menu of the Tesla app. In addition, the phrase “profile_settings_diner_description” could be the string used for the text that will show up in this menu. Since this menu is used to guide users to Tesla pillars such as products, charging, referrals and more, we expect the diner menu to only show up if you’re geographically near the Tesla diner.
What’s round and shiny but still not yet open? Tesla diner
Supercharger stalls, landscaping, and more are already in place at the Tesla Diner. The fact that Tesla is now including code related to the diner in the Tesla app indicates that Tesla may be ready to open up the diner to the public very soon.
For now, the location remains quiet, but it will soon become a 24-hour diner with a steady flow of traffic as Tesla owners visit to enjoy a unique charging and dining experience.
Tesla has been working to expand Cybertruck production, and with the Foundation Series ending only a few short months ago in the United States, it's time to begin looking at the next phase. And that is making the Cybertruck more affordable by offering a Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) config.
The Cybertruck, as it stands, has quite the repertoire of features, from the relatively unique rear-wheel steering, the rigid power tonneau that slides away seamlessly, steer-by-wire, 48V low-voltage and 800V high-voltage architectures, and an air suspension. Of course, it's also the only Tesla with Powershare, enabling it to stand in as a home backup energy source. In addition, the 120V and 240V ports in the bed make it a fantastic truck for getting work done on the go.
Making the Truck More Affordable
In order to hit that more affordable target - something has got to give - and it won’t just be the motors and range. In the recent decompile of the Tesla app by Tesla App iOS, we saw some new flags that indicated which features Tesla may be looking to trim.
Manual Tonneau
The app hints at the removal of the automatic sliding tonneau cover, with the flag: hasAutomaticTonneau, meaning that not all trucks will be available with the feature. The Cybertruck’s vault cover can slide away neatly without taking up room on the bed like a traditional tonneau cover, making it even more useful.
If Tesla is looking to remove the powered tonneau cover from some truck configurations, the cheaper, RWD variant makes the most sense. That leaves some room for speculation - will the powered tonneau cover be an option, or would you need to upgrade to the AWD version to receive it? The cover provides a considerable range boost to the truck when it's closed, so we can only imagine that Tesla will keep a manual tonneau as a standard feature.
We expect Tesla to remove the pair of electric motors that drive the vault cover, as well as the electronics for the buttons. Perhaps they’ll add a strap or handle to the tonneau to make it easier to push and pull manually - but this just speculation for now.
AC Outlets
Another change caught in the decompile, it seems that the AC outlets in the RWD variant won’t be standard. It looks like they could be an optional upgrade, given the flag name: OPTIONAL_HAS_AC_OUTLETS_NOT_SET. It really seems like Tesla will remove one of the Cybertruck’s most useful features - and one of the things that makes it one of the best work trucks in the light-duty class - the 120V and 240V outlets.
We’re hoping that the outlets are, at the very least, optional on the RWD variant. They’ll serve a much-needed purpose for people who need to run tools or equipment off of their Cybertruck. If the outlets aren’t an option, it could impact the sales of the RWD Cybertruck - which many have been waiting for as a “work truck.”
Either way, we’re looking forward to finding out more details on the RWD Cybertruck, including an updated price, updated range specs, and an updated feature set. The RWD Cybertruck can become a fantastic electric work truck as long as Tesla keeps the key features that businesses and professionals are looking for.