Tesla-Boss Elon Musk has introduced the long-announced robotaxi from the electric car manufacturer. The vehicle called “Cybercab” has two upward-opening wing doors and looks like a coupe based on the Tesla bestseller Model 3.
Tesla is expected to begin production of the vehicles in 2026, Musk said. At the same time, he admitted that he tends to be overly optimistic about schedules. The “Cybercab” will also be available for purchase – and it should cost less than $30,000.
First of all, the software for autonomous driving, which does not require human intervention, should hit the streets in Texas and California next year in the current Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
At the event on the grounds of the Hollywood studio Warner Bros. in Los Angeles, Musk was driven by one of the “cybercabs” without a steering wheel. Since it is private property, Tesla did not need permission from traffic authorities for the event, which took weeks to prepare.
The “Robovan” is intended to transport 20 passengers
Musk also showed off a futuristic-looking self-driving mini-bus called Robovan that can hold up to 20 people.
The event started almost an hour late. Musk referred to a medical emergency among those present. Analysts and Tesla influencers who praised the electric car company and its founder online were invited.
Software entrepreneur and critic of Tesla’s full self-driving software Dan O’Dowd, however, described the event as a “snoozefest” and wrote on X, formerly Twitter
: “Tesla limits itself to boring demonstrations in Hollywood studios, while its competitors’ robotaxis transport 100,000 paying customers across major American cities every week.”
Shortly before the planned launch of Tesla’s robotaxis on October 10th, the full self-driving software (FSD) used in the cars was in still disappointed in a test. Experts saw a need for improvement before fully autonomous operation.
Musk has repeatedly announced since 2016 that Tesla would soon make a breakthrough in autonomous driving. He also promised years ago that all Tesla owners would be able to send their cars onto a robotaxi platform to earn money. Tesla has also been letting car buyers pay in advance for the ability to drive autonomously.
Waymo robotaxis already make more than 100,000 trips per week
In reality, Tesla’s “Autopilot”, even in the advanced version with the addition of “Full Self-Driving”, is currently only a driving assistance system in which the people behind the wheel always bear responsibility and must be ready at any time to take control. In the past, there have been accidents and even deaths in connection with Musk’s supposed self-driving software. manager magazine reported
. At the time, Tesla denied that it was taking deaths lightly and stated that the driving software increased safety.
There are already actual robotaxis, especially from the Google-Sister company Waymo. Their cars make more than 100,000 trips carrying passengers in four U.S. cities each week without a human behind the wheel. In San Francisco in particular, Waymo’s Jaguar electric vehicles, which have been converted into self-driving cars, are part of the cityscape, manager magazine reported
. Lastly, the robotaxi company wanted theirs Expand fleet of Hyundai electric cars. Also in China Robotaxi developers like the tech company Baidu are making rapid progress.
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 collect enough information about road traffic.