Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has announced the company’s $30,000 robotaxi and unveiled the new Robovan concept and Optimus robots.
After at least five years of failed promises, Musk has finally unveiled the robotaxi, its autonomous self-driving cab, also called Cybercab.
Nearly one hour late to his fancy “We, Robot” event, which was held and live streamed from Warner Bros. studio in California, Musk finally arrived in one of 50 Tesla robotaxis that had been cruising around the venue.
“They have no pedals and no controls. So I hope it goes well,” said Musk as he started his speech about a future full of driverless cars.
The Robotaxi will cost $30.000
He opened by explaining how ineffective today’s transport is. Some people in LA have to spend three hours in traffic when they could have fallen asleep and woke up at their destination or done other things, like watch a movie.
“And now having a car is expensive. Cars are doing nothing the vast majority of the time. But if they’re autonomous, they could be used five or ten times more often,” Musk said.
According to Musk’s calculations, unsubsidized bus travel is now around $1 a mile, while he expects the cost of traveling with a Cybercab to reach 20 cents a mile over time.
When someone from the crowd asked when autonomous driving would be available, Musk said that Tesla’s unsupervised full self-driving platform was planned for Model 3 and Model Y in Texas at the start of the year.
However, the Cybercab will not be available to buy for at least a year. According to Musk, the production of Cybercabs is planned before 2027, although he admitted that he tends to be optimistic about timeframes.
The expected price of Tesla’s Cybercab is $30,000
Robotaxi details pic.twitter.com/AVSoysc6pS
undefined Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2024
The Robovan
The event's biggest surprise was the introduction of Tesla’s Robovan.
“What happens if you need a vehicle bigger than the Model Y? The Robovan! We are going to make it, and it's going to look like this!” Musk said, pointing at the self-driving van.
According to him, Tesla Robovan can transport up to 20 people as well as goods.
“Robovan is what’s gonna solve for high density. If you want to take a sports team somewhere or you are looking to get the cost of travel to 5-10 cents a mile, you can use Robovan.”
The billionaire businessman did not specify when the Robovan might be produced or how much it could cost.
undefined Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2024
Optimus robot
Musk said everything the company developed for cars – batteries, power electronics, advanced motors, gearboxes, and software – also applies to its humanoid robot.
The company has been making Optimus robots, which are expected to be used in low production for Tesla's internal use in 2025 and available to the masses later.
According to billionaire businessman, Tesla has made significant progress in developing the Optimus robot. He said everyone could have their own R2D2 C-3PO in the future, referring to robot characters from Star Wars movies.
In the long term, he expects Optimus to cost around $20,000-$30,000.
“It can do anything you want – it can be a teacher and babysit your kids, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. I think this will be the biggest product ever of any kind,” Musk explained.
Failed promises
Musk has promised to deliver autonomous driving vehicles for nearly a decade, while the robotaxi was first teased in 2019. However, the ideas have been postponed every year.
The company relies on cameras and artificial intelligence with driver supervision to drive its current cars. They don’t have the costly additional hardware associated with radar systems and lidar technology that other robotaxi players use.
Alphabet's Waymo is the only US firm operating uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares.
Others still in the race include General Motors' Cruise – re-launching robotaxis with a safety driver after an accident last fall forced it to halt operations – and Amazon's Zoox, which is expanding testing of its self-driving taxis without steering wheels and pedals.
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