Tesla’s Robotaxi Makes Its Daylight Debut at Giga Texas, Revealing Refined Design Elements

During Tesla’s Halloween weekend Frunk or Treat at its Texas Gigafactory, the much-anticipated Robotaxi emerged for the first time in daylight rather than at nighttime as seen earlier. The vehicle that generated interest in its driverless feature at the WB studio compound appeared radically different in natural light, with a rich gold sheen rather than silvery metallic luster as seen in the evening, but retained its sci-fi look.

Daytime revealed showed that Robotaxi’s design by Franz von Holzhausen is quite unique especially at night, with sharp sculpted lines. Especially the front seems to encapsulate Tesla’s typical flair for design that is accompanied by Cybertruck-style light strips. The rear light bar that is believed to be in the Model Y Juniper refresh stays easily visible despite light conditions such as sun lighting.

While the body panels are fabricated from aluminum alloy to mimic the Cybertruck’s stainless steel look, the material gives off a golden tint in daylight. This also makes a lot of sense from costs and weight perspective, but it also underlines Tesla’s skills at delivering a premium look without sacrificing functionality. The application of these elements demonstrate that the company is not afraid to think out of the box while still keeping production in mind.

The Robotaxi’s tires are 21-inch Continental tyres; the caps of which are painted to mimic even larger wheels. The use of such design strategy, however, serves to enhance the futuristic look of the vehicle and at the same time keep production costs to a reasonable level. The wheel design is one of the examples of how Tesla has optimized the visual appearance while maintaining manufacturability.