Tesla is testing a goofy camouflaged Robotaxi prototype ahead of reveal
Tesla is gearing up for its October 10 Robotaxi unveiling, which will take place at Warner Bros. Studio, and it’s currently running a fleet of (normal) cars around the lot to map the area.
But one of the cars, photographed late yesterday by a lot employee, stands out – and it stands out because it seems to be a heavily-camouflaged version of the heretofore-not-seen Robotaxi.
The photo was taken and first posted by u/boopitysmopp on reddit. It shows an oddly-shaped, bright yellow vehicle on what looks to be the Warner Bros. lot, leading in front of a another Tesla. It seems to be passing by the costume department and heading in the direction of “Warner Village,” a fake street of suburban houses.
The yellow coloring looks to be automotive camouflage pasted onto the vehicle, along with additional pieces of bodywork to obscure the shape of the vehicle body. Instead of going with camouflage of zebra-like line patterns like vehicles often do, Tesla looks to be having some fun with it and making quite a cartoony-looking vehicle.
While the photo was taken at night from a distance, so it’s somewhat noisy, we can still tell a little bit from it.
u/boopitysmopp also said that the rear end had a Cybertruck-like taillight that went across the whole rear of the car, but that they didn’t get a picture of it. They were also asked if there’s a steering wheel, and they responded that they couldn’t tell. Although, by boosting the exposure of the photo, there does seem to be something like a steering column in the vicinity of the driver’s seat.
Overall, the camouflaged prototype does look a lot like the concept render we’ve seen of the Robotaxi, which we used for the featured photo of this article. The general shape with the low nose and swept windshield/rear end are all roughly visible in the camouflaged vehicle.
There is a large boxy… thing in the back, but that looks like kind of like Tesla bolted a box onto the back of the vehicle just to make it look different.
It also looks smaller than the car following behind, though it’s hard to tell from the perspective of the photo. Rumors suggest that the Robotaxi will be a 2-door, 2-seat car, and a smaller size would fit with this. u/boopitysmopp described the vehicle as “tiny,” which fits with this observation.
The final prototype – if what’s under the camouflage is indeed the version that Tesla intends to reveal – probably doesn’t look exactly like the concept render, from what we can see. For example, the rear end may actually be flatter, once you take away the boxy shape in the back… but some of the general lines seem to be there.
(Frankly, it looks like if the box were removed, it might look like a Ute, which are popular in Australia. But that feels like it can’t be right, given the concept and intent of the vehicle…)
The camouflaged Robotaxi also has strangely dark wheels, and it’s tough to figure out the design from the photo. Perhaps the car was just moving at the time (though it’s at a stop sign, and the one behind is not moving), or maybe the Robotaxi’s wheels look quite solid, just like the concept drawing above.
Is that a LiDAR bump? (*probably not)
Another feature the spotted prototype sports is a small bump near the center of the roof, at the top edge of the windshield. While this could be a visual artifact or part of the camouflage, it could also be a “LiDAR bump” – which would be very interesting indeed.
There are various ways for vehicles to incorporate LiDAR into their designs, but one of the popular methods is to go with a bump at the top of the windshield, somewhat reminiscent of the bump of a taxi sign. Placing the LiDAR up high increases visibility as compared to putting it down low in the bumper.
If it is a LiDAR bump, this would be a big departure, given that Tesla has consistently said over the years that LiDAR is not necessary for autonomous operation. Tesla has always focused on either vision-only or vision-plus-radar, always taking the position that LiDAR sensors are expensive overkill.
It would also perhaps put into question whether the rest of Tesla’s vehicles, which Tesla has been saying have the hardware to be capable of full self-driving since 2016, will ever actually gain that promised capability. Tesla has been backing off from these promises (which it nevertheless made and owes to its customers) lately, possibly finally seeing a dead end for vision… but this is highly speculative, given that the “bump” in the photo could be nothing at all.
But, one thing we do know from this: Tesla is testing something like a Robotaxi, at Warner Bros., where lots of people with cameras work, so we expect to see more along these lines, perhaps in full daylight, soon enough.
Charge your electric vehicle at home using rooftop solar panels. Find a reliable and competitively priced solar installer near you on EnergySage, for free. They have pre-vetted installers competing for your business, ensuring high-quality solutions and 20-30% savings. It’s free, with no sales calls until you choose an installer. Compare personalized solar quotes online and receive guidance from unbiased Energy Advisers. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
Shares of Paccar – Peterbilt and Kenworth owner – soar after Trump’s heavy truck tariffs
A Peterbilt 579 truck equipped with Aurora’s self-driving system is seen at the company’s terminal in Palmer, south of Dallas, Texas, September 23, 2021.
Tina Bellon | Reuters
Shares of Paccar jumped Friday after President Donald Trump announced that he will impose a 25% tariff on imported heavy trucks beginning Oct. 1.
Paccar was last up more than 6% premarket.
Trump said in a social media post Thursday that “large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions.”
PCAR 5-day chart
Paccar is the owner of Peterbilt and Kenworth. It manufactures more than 90% of its U.S. trucks domestically but they cost $8,000 to $10,000 more than competitors in Mexico, Bank of America told clients in a Friday note.
Trump’s announcement “likely addresses this issue and places PCAR in the driver seat,” BofA analyst Michael Feniger said.
British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Five months ago, British energy major BP was firmly in the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Now, not so much.
Shares of the London-listed oil giant have climbed more than 32% since early April, outperforming many of its U.S. and European rivals.
The improving sentiment can be attributed to a range of factors, including BP’s fundamental strategic reset, a leadership shake-up, progress on its cost-cutting program and a string of recent oil discoveries.
It marks a stark contrast to earlier in the year, when BP found itself to be the subject of intense takeover speculation, with British rival Shell, UAE oil giant ADNOC and U.S. majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron all among the names touted as possible suitors.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss insisted the company was focused on growth when asked about any approaches, saying last month: “That’s what is going to drive the share price up for shareholders.”
Shell, for its part, swiftly denied reports in late June that early-stage talks were taking place to acquire BP. The company said at the time that it had “no intention” of making a blockbuster offer for its embattled rival.
Allen Good, equity analyst at Morningstar, said he was unsure of the merit of the takeover speculation from the outset, even while the company was in turmoil and trading at a steep discount to its peers.
“Shares have since done better,” Good told CNBC. “And I think probably the most recent catalyst was the selection of the new chair, who is coming from CRH and has previous experience with meaningful turnarounds and being successful.”
Shares of BP since April 11.
Following a green strategy U-turn earlier in the year, BP announced in July the appointment of Albert Manifold as its new chairman. The former boss of building materials producer CRH has since joined the firm’s board and will formally become chair from Oct. 1.
A BP spokesperson was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.
Oil discoveries and Elliott’s arrival
BP’s share price gain has coincided with some notable rating and price target upgrades. Berenberg, for instance, recently upgraded BP to buy from hold and raised its price target to £5.00 ($6.73), from £3.85, citing the firm’s significantly stronger second-quarter results.
In early August, BP reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.35 billion for the three months through June — comfortably beating analyst expectations of $1.81 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” shortly after these results, BP’s Auchincloss highlighted the growth potential of the company’s recent oil and gas discoveries, adding that he was “very optimistic” about the discovery in the Bumerangue block in Brazil’s Santos Basin, just over 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) from Rio de Janeiro.
The discovery marked the firm’s 10th since the start of the year and is regarded as a potentially significant boost as BP continues to double down on hydrocarbons.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said BP’s resilience in the face of skepticism “is interesting and can be a telling sign,” particularly as the share price rise comes despite what he described as “relentlessly negative commentary” on both the company and the oil price.
“Elliott’s arrival on the share register remains a factor, too, as the activist presses for disposals, improved cash flow, deleveraging and improved cash returns to shareholders, a clarion call to which BP appears to be listening,” Mould told CNBC by email.
Activist investor Elliott went public with a stake of more than 5% in BP in late April, bolstering expectations that its involvement could pressure the company to shift back toward its core oil and gas businesses.
A fuel pump is seen connected to a car at a gas station in Krakow, Poland on June 19, 2025.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Given Shell’s reported interest in a takeover appears to have cooled, Mould said BP’s best defense to any potential suitors would be a higher share price and an improved valuation.
“Valuation, or the price paid, is the ultimate arbiter of investment return and the more they have to stump up, the less likely predators are to appear, as higher valuations limit upside potential and increase downside risks should anything unexpected go wrong,” Mould said.
Debt burden
Looking ahead, energy analysts singled out BP’s relatively high debt burden as a potential cause for concern, however.
BP’s net debt came in at $26.04 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from nearly $27 billion in the first three months of the year.
“If you get a situation where oil prices start falling, then they are certainly the most exposed in the peer group,” Morningstar’s Good said. “So, that would be something that could derail this momentum.”
Government researchers in the US and abroad believe we could help decarbonize and electrify the transportation sector with hardy, fast-growing plants that collect the metals needed to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in their roots, then harvest those metals later with a process that’s cleaner and cheaper than traditional mineral mining.
Nickel is just one example of a critical element in the production of modern EV batteries, but mining it is messy, expensive, and destructive. It used to be, anyway – a new French biotech startup says it has a better idea: extracting nickel from daisies.
Getting nickel and other useful metals from plants is made possible through a process called phytomining. But, as you’ve probably guessed, everyday plants don’t collect enough of these metals to make the extraction commercially viable. That’s where a French biotech startup called “Genomines” comes in.
Genomine’s relies on biologically engineered plants it calls “hyperaccumulators.” These plants naturally pull metals and minerals out from the soil they’re planted in through their roots, and store it in their stems and leaves, where Genomine can harvest it later.
“It’s important because we need a lot of metal, especially for the energy transition in batteries in electric vehicles,” Fabien Koutchekian, co-founder and CEO of Genomines, told Fast Company. “Not only in batteries, but [nickel is] widely used in stainless steel as part of infrastructure. The problem is that with current traditional mining methods, we will not be able to produce enough.”
Genomines predicts that hitting the 2040 goals set out by the Paris Agreement to transition all the world’s cars to electric vehicles will require six (6) times today’s global metal output and a significant number of new, potentially destructive mining operations.
That’s bad.
More farms, fewer mines
Not only are mining operations generally destructive, they often accompany (if not cause) a number of human rights issues as they get to work. “Indigenous Peoples and rural communities are paying a heavy price for the world’s scramble for energy transition minerals,” explains Veronica Cabe, Chair of Amnesty International, Philippines. “Not only did these communities undergo seriously flawed consultation processes – blighted by misrepresentations and a lack of information – they are now being forced to endure the negative impacts of these mining operations on their health, livelihoods and access to clean water.”
Genomines thinks its high-performance custom daisies could avoid this sort of environmental and cultural harm. They’ve convinced investors of that, too, to the tune of more than $45 million from a group that includes Hyundai and Jaguar and Land Rover parent company Tata.
“Our mission is to harness plant biotechnology to extract resources essential for clean energy technology via scalable processes that preserve biodiversity, soil health and human well-being,” explains Koutchekian. “Our vision is to create an entirely new industry of plant-based metals. Genomines unlocks a scalable new resource base – we can fundamentally rebalance global mineral supply chains for decades to come.”
Genomines says its methods are not only scalable, but offer a number of additional benefits over conventional mineral mining:
- Transformation of non-productive land into economic assets, operating in areas that are too low-grade to mine traditionally, but too metal rich to farm
- Quickly deployable farms, operationalizing an asset in 1-2 years versus 12-17 years for traditional nickel mines
- Cleaner more traceable extraction, while maintaining 40-50% lower equipment and operational costs as a result of biomass farming
- Scalable modularly, deploying smaller, capital-efficient assets at profitable rates, rather than relying on the large, capex-intensive mines of traditional industry
- Superior sustainability, the hyperaccumulator plants capture carbon as they grow, making the entire process not just carbon neutral, but potentially carbon negative
“Genomines’ technology leverages underutilized assets by extracting nickel from low-concentration soils that don’t compete with traditional agriculture. Coupled with a structural cost advantage, Genomines is well equipped to fundamentally change the way we extract critical metals, and do it in a significantly more sustainable manner,” says Alex Hoffmann, General Partner at VC firm Forbion and Genomines investor. “We are excited to be part of the journey and support the team to achieve its ambitious targets.”
Genomines estimates that about 30 to 40 million hectares of land across the globe contain enough nickel for their phytomining processes to prove enough nickel for the world’s EV needs, at 7-14 times the amount currently being mined. While it’s got a long way to go, the company currently employs 23 full time staff that are making real progress at their South African site, with many more soon to come.
That’s good.
SOURCES: Genomines; via Business Insider, Good Good Good, SingularityHub.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment12 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024