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On October 10, 2024, Elon Musk unveiled a futuristic version of Tesla's two-door robotaxi called the "Cybercab at Warner Bros studio." It has gull-wing doors and doesn’t have traditional driving controls like doors and pedals.
The Cybercab reiterates and embodies Musk's vision for evolving Tesla from a low-cost, mass-market automaker to a pioneering robotics manufacturer.
Musk stated that the Cybercab would roll off the production line in 2026, costing under US$30,000. He noted that its operating cost will be about 20 cents per mile over time. The Cybercab will be charged through an inductive system thus dispensing with the need for plugs.
It looks like Elon Musk’s stars are shining as in recent news, X got approval to resume its operations in Brazil, X’s biggest consumer country.
"The autonomous future is here," Musk declared, unveiling 50 autonomous vehicles, including Cybercab and Model Ys. He also displayed the "Robovan," a much bigger self-driving vehicle that could potentially carry as many as 20 passengers, in addition to Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot.
Musk's vision will begin with a massive autonomous fleet of cabs that passengers will hail for trips through an app. The individual Tesla owners can opt to let their cars work as robotaxis and supplement their earnings.
While there was much excitement with the event, some investors felt quite disappointed for not being presented with concrete timelines in terms of producing a robotaxi.
"Everything looks good, but not much in terms of timelines," said Dennis Dick, an equity trader at Triple D Trading. "I don't think he said much about anything. He didn't give much concrete info."
Tesla is facing issues in terms of its deliveries and continual regulatory scrutiny of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. However, this doesn’t deter Musk as he focuses on evolving Tesla into an AI robotics company from a mere automaker.
While Waymo, Cruise, and Zoox among other companies continue investing in the robotaxi market, Tesla’s taxi remains unique.
Musk’s heavy reliance on cameras and AI, which have become controversial for issues of safety and regulatory compliance, has made Tesla stand out from its competitors.
Musk said the company is anticipating fully autonomous unsupervised FSD operations on its models, "starting next year in Texas and California on both the Model 3 and Model Y."
He did not make clear whether Cybercab will draw off from existing FSD technology or be based on a new one.
