Chapter 158

Musk commits Tesla to a fully autonomous Robotaxi with no steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors, rejecting his engineers' safer alternative design. After initially dismissing a mass-market $25,000 car as unnecessary, he is persuaded by von Holzhausen and Moravy that both vehicles can share a common platform and factories, leading to plans for a new next-generation production facility in Austin with revolutionary manufacturing methods.

In November 2022, Musk gathers his top five lieutenants—von Holzhausen, Baglino, Moravy, and Kirkhorn—at Afshar's house in Austin to envision the Robotaxi future. The team debates design specifications, with Musk emphasizing massive volume ambitions of twenty million vehicles annually and addressing practical challenges like self-closing doors and entry to gated communities. By August 2022, the core decision emerges: should the Robotaxi include a steering wheel and pedals as a safety fallback, or commit fully to autonomous design? At a tense August 18 meeting, von Holzhausen advocates for retaining removable steering wheels and pedals until FSD is definitively ready. Musk rejects this compromise entirely, declaring "No mirrors, no pedals, no steering wheel" and taking personal responsibility for the risk. He emphasizes Tesla will be "all in on autonomy," refusing to build what he calls an "amphibian frog" halfway car. Days later, on his plane, Musk frames the Robotaxi as a historically revolutionary product that will make Tesla a ten-trillion-dollar company.

However, within weeks, von Holzhausen and Moravy present new arguments: international regulatory approval would lag years behind the U.S., making a steering-wheel version essential for near-term sales. They reveal that the same platform and assembly lines can produce both a $25,000 mass-market car and the Robotaxi, tapping a global market of up to 700 million small cars by 2030. Initially dismissive—calling the affordable car "really not that exciting"—Musk gradually warms to the concept, especially after seeing futuristic design models in February 2023 that evoke a Cybertruck aesthetic. The combined project becomes "the next generation platform." Originally planned for a new factory in northern Mexico, Musk reconsiders, recognizing that his top engineers would not relocate and that close proximity between design and manufacturing is essential for rapid innovation. By May 2023, he shifts the location to Austin, where his workspace and the new ultra-automated assembly line will be adjacent. Throughout summer 2023, he dedicates hours weekly to designing each station, optimizing millisecond-level efficiencies in the manufacturing process.