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Telsa CEO Elon Musk unveils robotaxi and robovan: 7 quick takes

An autonomous future? What tech billionaire unveiled at ‘We, Robot’ event



Cybercabs, vans: The “We, Robot" event held at Warner Brothers Discovery studio in California doubled down on Tesla’s vision of a driverless future. About 50 driverless vehicles, including 20 Cybercabs and 30 Model Ys, were used by attendees to demonstrate what CEO Elon Musk dubbed as a future of “individualised mass transit” system.
Image Credit: Tesla | X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally unveiled the no-pedals, no-steering-wheel “Robotaxis” late on Thursday during the "We, Robot Party" in California.

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The event, part-vision setting and part-demo of what an autonomous transport future might look like, was held at Warner Brothers Discovery studio in Burbank where Musk arrived in a “cybercab” – without a steering wheel and no pedals.

Disclaimer

It kicked off with a legal disclaimer stating that all statements were “forward-looking”.

“We have quite a show for you tonight. I think you're going to like it," Musk said, arriving in the robottaxi, the Cybercab.

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“There are 20 more where that came from. As you can see, the cars are just going by with no people.” He added that there were 50 “fully-autonomous” cars present, including Model Ys and the Cybercabs.

He offered attendees a chance to take a ride in the driverless Cybercab.

Our key takeaways:

#1. 'Individualised mass transit' system 

The event doubled down on Tesla’s vision of a future with personalised autonomous transport. The much-awaited event did not disappoint. It not only discussed the possibility of an “individualised mass transit system” – but gave an actual demonstration, with at least 20 working Cybercab demo units.

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Musk explained: “The cost of autonomous transport will be so low that you can think of it like individualised mass transit. The average cost of a bus per mile for a city, not the ticket price because that is subsidised, is about $1 a mile.

"We think the cost of the Cybercab, over time, will be around 20 cents a mile for operating costs. And with taxes and other factors, it would likely be 30 or 40 cents per mile.”

#2. Cost of the robotaxi, or 'Cybercab': $30,000

He also confirmed that the Cybercab would be available for purchase and estimated the price to be below $30,000. This is lower than any other vehicle that Tesla has produced till date.

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Musk, however, has in the past demonstrated that the numbers and impossible timelines he mentions are way off the mark, though they may eventually happen.

#3. 'Unsupervised FSD' rollout in Texas, California

The tech billionaire announced that Tesla plans to start fully autonomous, unsupervised Full Self-Driving (uFSD) operations in Texas and California next year. It's not immediately clear if the regulatory hurdles had been sorted to roll out (uFSD).

#4. Cybercab production: from 2026

He expects production of the Cybercab, optimised for U.S. transport, to begin “around 2026”.

Must, however, noted that he tends to be optimistic with timeframes – setting the goal for production before 2027.

#5. Inductive charging 

Describing the experience of riding in a Cybercab, Musk said: "It feels great to be in a car with no steering wheel, pedals, or controls." He also introduced a new feature: inductive charging. "The robottaxi has no plug. It just goes over the inductive charger and charges."

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#6. Robovan

In addition to the Cybercab, Musk debuted the "Roven" (often referred to as the RoboVan), a larger vehicle designed for high-density transport.

“This can carry up to 20 people or be used for goods transport within a city,” he said, adding that the Roven is aimed at bringing the cost of travel down to 5 or 10 cents a mile.

#7. Optimus humanoid: $20k to $30k

Musk also touched on Tesla's progress with the Optimus humanoid robot. “Everything we've developed for our cars—batteries, power electronics, advanced motors, gearboxes, software, AI inference computer—applies to a humanoid robot,” he said.

The Optimus robot has seen significant advancements, and Musk predicts that, at scale, it could cost between $20,000 and $30,000. He emphasized that the robot will be able to perform a variety of tasks, including teaching, babysitting, walking pets, mowing lawns, and even serving drinks.

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"This will be the biggest product ever of any kind," Musk concluded.

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