Tesla Cybercab concept was unveiled by the company’s chief executive Elon Musk during a recent invitation-only event held at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California. Inside a venue called the “We, Robot,” 21 Cybercabs emerged plus a total of 50 autonomous vehicles. More than that, at the “We, Robot” gathering, Tesla rolled out 21 Cybercabs as well as 50 total autonomous cars, pushing ahead with its pursuit of self-driving technology.
Musk announced that the Cybercab would sell for under $30,000 and hoped to start mass production before 2027. Although he wouldn’t disclose where the vehicles will be manufactured, selling it for less than $30,000 further emphasizes the strategic integration of autonomous transportation towards broader masses. He also said that Tesla would achieve “unsupervised Full Self-Driving” (FSD) capability in the states of Texas and California by 2024, which would include Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. The FSD feature currently automatically enhances driver assistance, but there is still human oversight.
He keeps promising that these automobiles will bring in some revolution or another, as if saying, “It’s going to be a glorious future.” In addition to the Cybercab, he presented plans for an autonomous Robovan, which can carry 20 passengers or act as a goods delivery vehicle. The necessity to address high-density transport he believes the vehicle will answer well is shown through its potential in transporting sports teams.
In both Cybercab and Robovan, inductive charging technology will be used-which means that either of these can charge on its own at the charging stations with no physical plug-in. This innovation goes a long way to show how much Tesla is putting into developing user-friendly electric vehicle solutions.
Musk’s past timelines in autonomous vehicle deployment have not fared well. Three years ago, he promised that Tesla will reach complete autonomy in three years, which did not happen. Promises to develop cross-country travel that doesn’t require human intervention and launching one million robotaxi-ready vehicles by 2020 also did not come to fruition.
Despite all these failed attempts in the past, Musk was optimistic about the future of Tesla’s autonomy. And this April 2023 marked another such reminder to the investors: if they do not believe Tesla could do it, they should now reconsider their investment in the company. Meanwhile, the show was Tesla’s first major product unveil since the debut of the Cybertruck in 2019, which has been recalled a few times after it went on sale.
With the presentation concluded, Musk invited the public to test-ride the new cars and rolled out Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, humorously suggesting it serve drinks at the party. This continuity of innovation and entertainment captures the theme under which Tesla continues to help redefine transportation and robotics in an increasingly autonomous future.