Elon Musk presents Cybercab, Tesla's robot taxi and other new features; check it out

In the early hours of this Friday (11), Brasília time, during the event We, Robot, in Burbank, California, USA, the billionaire CEO of Tesla announced the robot taxi Cybercab — a vehicle designed to transport passengers without the need for a driver. The Cybercab, which also has no steering wheel or pedals, was scheduled to be produced in 2026 — or “before 2027,” as Musk joked during his presentation.

Cybercab, Elon Musk's new vehicle

After arriving at your performance location in one of the 20 Cybercabs present in the studios of Warner Bros., Musk referred to the event as “the party We, Robot” and soon went into detail about the robot taxi Tesla.

In addition to highlighting the fact that the vehicles are driverless, the South African CEO focused on key points, addressing not only the vehicles' functionalities but also the differences in operating costs between his robot taxi and conventional public transport vehicles.

According to Musk, the average cost of a bus in a city is about $1 per mile, while the operating cost of Cybercab can reach the range of US$ 0,30 (already including taxes and other fees). He also used the term “individualized mass transportation” to refer to the potential of his product.

This data was presented to highlight how accessible the Cybercab and other autonomous vehicles could be for the average consumer. Musk mentioned that his team estimates prices below US$ 30 thousand (about R$ 168 thousand in direct conversion), which provoked enthusiastic reactions from the audience present.

“I tend to be optimistic about timelines,” Musk said of when Cybercab production would begin. “In 2026 — before 2027 [laughs]; let’s leave it at that.”

In addition to these predictions, Musk reported that FSD transportation services (acronym for full self-driving – “fully autonomous driving”, in free translation) fully autonomous and unsupervised vehicles are expected to begin next year in California and Texas, with models 3 e Y.

The main new feature regarding the Cybercab, according to Musk, is that the vehicle does not have a charging plug, as it can be recharged via induction.

Musk summed up the charging process as follows: “The Cybercab doesn’t have a plug. It just goes to the induction charger and charges […] that’s how it should be.”

Robovan

Musk then presented the prototype of the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle with capacity for up to 20 passengers. According to Musk, the Robovan It could be used to transport both people and goods, offering a solution to problems related to high population density. The size of the vehicle impressed the public, but Musk did not reveal details about prices or production date. However, he reiterated that the vehicle will also have a low operating cost, as well as the Cybercab.

Optimus Update

Finally, Musk presented news about the Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robotMusk mentioned many possible uses for the robot — from teaching to walking dogs — and again reiterated how affordable these robots could be in the long run.

“I think at scale this [Optimus] would cost about $20 to $30,” Musk said. The CEO concluded by saying, “I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind.”

Despite the furor caused during the event, the reactions from Tesla investors were not so positive. The lack of technical, financial and regulatory details about the products announced caused Tesla shares to fall 6,9% this Friday (11).

Tesla is known for being wildly ambitious and speculative about pricing, operational details of its announcements, and how autonomous vehicles will behave in real-world environments.

It is worth remembering that the company has been under investigation since April this year by an American traffic safety regulatory agency due to accidents involving autonomous vehicles, following a recall of more than 2 million units.

And you, what did you think of the news presented during the We, Robot? Tell us in the comments!

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Sources: The Guardian | TechCrunch | InfoMoney

Text proofread by: Daniel Coutinho in 11 / 10 / 2024