Without steering wheel or pedals: what does the Tesla robotaxi presented by Musk look like?

A truly futuristic side. Tesla boss Elon Musk revealed this on Thursday (in the night from Thursday to Friday, French time) a new autonomous robotaxi – without a driver – called “Cybercab”, the agency reports Reuters. This, which will have neither steering wheel nor pedals and will work thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) and cameras, should go into production “before 2027”. It should be marketed at a price of less than $30,000, Reuters continues. “The future of autonomy is here,” said Elon Musk during the presentation at the Warner Bros studios (California). 50 units have already been produced.

According to Elon Musk, the operating cost should be around 20 cents per mile (1.6 km). It will not have an electrical outlet and will be recharged by induction. He wants the robot taxi fleet to be able to be used via an application, as already exists for classic VTCs.

10 to 20 times safer, Musk says

The Swiss media reported it TimeElon Musk assured that his robotaxi was 10 to 20 times less risky than normal human driving. On the contrary, he believes that it will be possible to sleep or work in the car. “Think about the cumulative time that people spend in the car and the time that they recover and can now devote to their books, a film, their work or whatever,” the billionaire said, according to Le Time.

Tesla hopes to launch “fully autonomous and unsupervised” driving in Texas and California in 2025 with existing models, before starting mass production of the “Cybercab”. “I tend to be a little optimistic when it comes to deadlines, but in 2026, so yes, before 2027. Let’s put it that way,” the head of the electric vehicle manufacturer continued.

A robotvan also revealed

At the same time, Elon Musk revealed a larger autonomous vehicle capable of carrying up to twenty people: the robovan. It is a driverless bus, with a futuristic design and on which the wheels are not visible. He provided no date or other details.

The billionaire also paraded dancing humanoid robots, called “Optimus”, ensuring that they would one day be able to carry out domestic tasks and maintain friendly relations, for a price of between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars (18,300 to 27,500 euros).

Again, no timetable and the capabilities of these robots were not clearly observable, although they chatted with visitors and provided service.