Photo of Strange Yellow Vehicle May Be Tesla’s Secret New Project

Is this the long-awaited robotaxi?

Taxi Praxis

Let down by Elon Musk canning Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi reveal? Well, good news: we may have just gotten an early look at one of these things in action.

Try not to be disappointed, though, because even if this is a photo of a real “Cybercab,” it probably won’t be anywhere near representative of what the Tesla prototype is actually supposed to look like.

The source of all the buzz is a new photo that shows a small, two-door yellow car driving around what appears to be the Warner Bros movie studio in Los Angeles at night, tailed by another Tesla. Based on its odd appearance, such as a boxy protrusion at the rear, it’s probably a camouflaged vehicle, which in the automotive industry means it’s a prototype in disguise.

As Electrek reports, the photo was shared Friday night by a Reddit user who purported to be a Warner Bros. employee — though, mysteriously, both the original post and their account have since been deleted.

Proof of Concept

So what points to this being the fabled Cybercab? Well, Bloomberg reported last month that Tesla planned to officially unveil its robotaxi at Warner Bros’ 110-acre lot in October, so it makes sense that it’d be driven around there ahead of the event.

Beneath the ugly camouflage, some Tesla fans speculate that it resembles design elements of a Robotaxi concept render, along with a photo of Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen standing next to what’s allegedly an early mockup of the car, that were revealed in Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography, Electrek notes.

Official details on the robotaxi are scant, but those concepts suggest that it will be a small vehicle with two passenger seats, two doors, and room in the back for cargo. The vehicle in the photograph seems to fit the bill in those respects, but it’s not a lot to go off.

In any case, if Bloomberg is correct, the mystery of the car’s appearance should be solved at the reveal next month. Elon Musk is banking on robotaxis being Tesla’s next big thing — but the industry still faces many technological and regulatory hurdles, and is yet to be profitable. And inauspiciously, he somewhat sabotaged this bold new foray before it even started by cancelling its originally planned reveal in August, spurring a nosedive in Tesla stock.