Availability open Elon Musk shows Tesla's robotaxi and self-driving bus
Tesla boss Elon Musk shows off a vehicle that is to be used as a driverless robotaxi to transport people. How quickly it will get on the road and how well it can keep up with the competition remains to be seen.
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- Tesla boss Elon Musk has unveiled the electric car manufacturer's long-announced robotaxi in California.
- The vehicle, called the "Cybercab", has two upward-opening gullwing doors and looks like a coupé based on Tesla's best-selling Model 3.
- Musk also showed a futuristic-looking self-driving mini-bus called "Robovan", which can carry up to 20 people.
- How quickly the vehicles will hit the road remains to be seen.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has unveiled the electric car manufacturer's long-announced robotaxi. The vehicle, called the "Cybercab", has two upward-opening gullwing doors and looks like a coupé based on Tesla's best-selling Model 3.
Tesla expects to start production of the vehicles in 2026, Musk said. At the same time, he admitted that he tends to be too optimistic when it comes to schedules. The "Cybercab" will also be available to buy - and it should cost less than 30,000 dollars.
Initially, software for autonomous driving that does not require human intervention is to hit the roads in Texas and California next year in the current Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
Up to 20 people should fit in "Robovan"
Musk let himself be driven to the stage at the event on the grounds of the Hollywood studio Warner Bros. in Burbank near Los Angeles by one of the "Cybercabs" without a steering wheel. As it is a private site, Tesla did not need permission from the traffic authorities for the event, which had taken weeks to prepare.
Musk also showed off a futuristic-looking self-driving mini-bus called the "Robovan", which can carry up to 20 people.
The event started almost an hour late. Musk referred to a medical emergency among the attendees. Analysts and Tesla influencers were invited, who praised the electric car company and its founder online.
So far only a driver assistance system - no autonomous driving
Musk has repeatedly announced since 2016 that Tesla would soon achieve a breakthrough in autonomous driving. He also promised years ago that all Tesla owners would be able to send their cars out on a robotaxi platform to earn money on their own. Tesla has also been letting car buyers pay in advance for the ability to drive autonomously for a long time.
In reality, Tesla's "Autopilot", even in the advanced version with the addition of "Full Self-Driving", is so far only a driver assistance system in which the people at the wheel are always responsible and must be ready to take control at any time.
However, there are already actual robotaxis, particularly from Google's sister company Waymo. Their cars make more than 100,000 journeys with passengers in four US cities every week without a human at the wheel. In San Francisco in particular, Waymo's Jaguar electric vehicles converted into self-driving cars are part of the cityscape. In China, too, robotaxi developers such as the tech group Baidu are making rapid progress.
No laser radars
Unlike Waymo and other robotaxi developers, Musk insists that self-driving cars can only be created with cameras and without the more expensive laser radars. Many industry experts doubt that such vehicles can gather enough information about road traffic.