Tesla Inc. Engineering executive Lars Moravy said the company is in a “big swing moment” with its forthcoming products as he gave a wide ranging talk at a San Francisco Bay area gathering of customers and retail investors Saturday.
Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, said he’s personally most excited about Semi truck — built at the company’s factory near Reno, Nevada — and called it key to the company’s mission. He spoke at the “X Takeover,” a day-long event in San Mateo.
“We take big swings, and sometimes that risk can come with a lot of downside,” said Moravy, who has been with Tesla for over 15 years. “We’re in a big swing moment right now with autonomy, Robotaxis, with Optimus and with Semi.”
Optimus is the company’s humanoid robot.
Previous “Tesla Takeover” events, sponsored by the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley club, focused on the electric vehicle maker. This year’s gathering, which drew scores of longtime Elon Musk fans, expanded to encompass SpaceX and the other companies in Musk’s overlapping business empire. Musk also spoke via video conference late in the afternoon.
Moravy’s appearance and remarks served as a rallying cry for fans of Tesla and Musk in the face of severe challenges across the core automotive business. Tesla is losing market share as sales of its aging lineup fall in key markets around the world. That includes California, its former home where sales have declined for the last seven quarters.
President Donald Trump’s signature tax plan ends the $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers that have helped support the market for years. It also makes key regulatory changes that Tesla executives have acknowledged will hurt revenue and profit.
On Tesla’s earnings call Wednesday, executives said the company started producing a more affordable EV in June, but it won’t be widely available until later this year so Tesla can prioritize making and selling as many of its current cars before the tax credit expires at the end of September.
The new model, which Musk said would resemble the Model Y, is seen as crucial to buoying sales. Tesla makes five consumer vehicles: the Model S, X, 3, Y and the Cybertruck.
Moravy oversees a team of nearly 6,000 engineers who are working on several programs. He joined the company from Honda Motor Co. In 2010, the year that Tesla went public. He’s since been deeply involved in engineering every Tesla vehicle, and works closely with chief designer Franz von Holzhausen.
On display at the event was Tesla’s forthcoming “Cybercab,” a two-seat autonomous vehicle designed without a steering wheel, as well as Optimus.
Musk has made it clear that robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving represent Tesla’s future. The company is offering limited rides in Austin with Model Y vehicles that are not fully self-driving, and is expected to expand to the Bay Area sometime this weekend.
In California, Tesla has a permit to offer rides in a non-autonomous vehicle that has a driver. The company does not have permits to deploy autonomous vehicles in the state.
