Elon Musk just unveiled Tesla's robotaxi at the company's We Robot event in Los Angeles. He expects the price to be less than $30,000. In addition to the two-door taxi, the company also announced a 20-seater shuttle called Robovan. .
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Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi has finally been unveiled.
Elon Musk showed off Tesla's upcoming driverless taxi on “We, Robot” Thursday night.
The unveiling took place at the Warner Bros. Discovery movie studio in Burbank, California. The location allowed Tesla to show off its self-driving capabilities without encountering any surprises caused by traffic jams.
Musk walked into the event and boarded a sleek silver robotaxi, a two-door vehicle with butterfly doors that open upwards. A robotaxi, also known as a cybercab, then took Musk inside the venue before exiting to begin the event.
Musk said robotaxis don't have steering wheels or pedals and don't need to be plugged into an electrical outlet. Instead, he said, electric cars rely on inductive charging and need only be driven over a charger to charge.
Musk said Tesla has at least 20 CyberCabs and 50 fully self-driving cars at the event, some of which were already driving around without people on board.
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Musk said Tesla will have fully self-driving Model 3 and Model Y vehicles running unsupervised in California and Texas next year, and that the CyberCab will be in production by 2027. However, Musk himself noted that he tends to be optimistic about the schedule. , regularly delivers products later than originally quoted.
Tesla's upcoming robotaxis Tesla
He also said the CyberCab will also be available for purchase. He expects the price to be less than $30,000.
Tesla provided more details in a post on X, announcing that the robotaxi service will not have a driver fee and that its fully self-driving cars will only use cameras, rather than radar or lidar equipment. The company also said customers can call a robotaxi once and use it for as long as they need, whether it's for a short trip or a full day.
Musk did not share many details about the technology or safety features behind the robotaxis. Tesla has faced intense scrutiny in the past over the safety of its driver assistance systems.
Tesla also unveiled the RoboVan, a large shuttle van that Musk said can seat up to 20 people.
Screenshot of a Tesla Robovan prototype passing through a set in the Los Angeles area
Musk also touted the humanoid robot Optimus, which he said would cost between $28,000 and $30,000, but did not share a timeline for when the robot would be released.
“I think this is going to be the biggest product of any kind ever,” Musk said, adding, “I think everyone is going to want an Optimus sidekick.”
At the end of the presentation, several robots danced on stage to a light show.
Tesla Optimus robot prototype takes to stage with Elon Musk Screengrab
In a post on X ahead of the release, Musk said Tesla had created a “future world” on the studio grounds and reshared a photo of the event's brochure. The photo included a map showing four separate areas with titles such as “TSLA Theater,” “New York,” “Metropolis,” and “Westworld.” The handout said guests could visit various areas to enjoy Texas barbecue, arcade games, a block party with street performers, and more.
The event started late, nearly an hour behind schedule, but Musk said in an X post that it was because someone in the audience had a medical emergency.
The revelation was also livestreamed on Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which at one point had more than 3 million viewers.
The unveiling of Tesla's newest vehicles is a major milestone for the company and has been highly anticipated for years. Tesla had originally planned to unveil its robotaxi in August, but pushed back the date after Musk requested “significant design changes” to the front of the vehicle, he wrote in a post on social media platform X. Ta. time” will allow the company to “show off some other things.”
Tesla's CEO said achieving full autonomy is key to Tesla's future success.
“Tesla's value is overwhelmingly autonomy,” Musk told investors in July.
Over the past decade, Musk has repeatedly predicted when the technology, which also faces regulatory hurdles, would be ready. Tesla's Autopilot driver-assistance software is widely available, but the optional full self-driving upgrade is still considered beta software and requires constant human supervision and preparation to take over driving. In 2016, Musk said at a press conference that Tesla cars would drive themselves from Los Angeles to New York City by 2017. In 2019, the billionaire said at a press conference that Tesla would have 1 million robotaxis in operation in 2020. , the timeline has moved to 2023.
Despite Musk's optimistic outlook, Tesla's self-driving technology faces significant challenges and regulatory oversight. A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was investigating hundreds of crashes involving Autopilot that resulted in 29 fatalities.
Previous Tesla cars had Level 2 autonomy, but Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo, which has partnered with Uber, has achieved Level 4 autonomy, making driverless cars possible in some U.S. cities. are.
Some analysts don't expect fully autonomous robotaxis for another few years. Meanwhile, regulatory approval for robotaxis and its unsupervised, fully self-driving technology will be the main hurdle Tesla will have to overcome in the coming months and years.
