Tesla unveils autonomous Robotaxi, Robovan

Elon Musk’s pair of futuristic looking vehicles could change the future of road transport around the globe.

Tesla has unveiled its vision for a driverless future.

The electric car brand unveiled a pair of futuristic-looking autonomous vehicles in the Robotaxi, a compact two-door car, and the Robovan, a wild-looking 20-seat minibus.

Elon Musk unveiled the prototypes at a star-studded event at the Warner Bros Discovery studio in Burbank, California.

Dubbed the “We, Robot” event, Musk delivered a presentation that hinted at Tesla’s future in the autonomous vehicle space.

Tesla Robovan and Robotaxi. Picture: Supplied

Starting with the reveal of the prototype, referred to by Musk as the “Cybercab”, has been designed to operate without a driver, similar to Waymo.

Musk demonstrated the vehicle’s capabilities, taking it for a spin around the studio.

The Cybercab has a unique futuristic design, which features butterfly doors, and no steering wheel or pedals.

Musk explained that the cost of a bus is around $1 USD per mile but the Cybercab will be 20 cents per mile and “yes you will be able to buy one”.

Tesla Cybercab. Photo: Supplied

He also emphasised the level of safety that comes with autonomous driving, with his global fleet driving half a million miles every 3.5 minutes.

“We have millions of cars that are driving and training,

“With that amount of training data, it will be much better than what a human can be, because you can’t live a million lives, it can see in all directions simultaneously, it doesn’t get tired, or text, it will be ten or twenty times safer than a human,” he told the audience.

Musk announced that the Cybercab would be priced at less than $30,000 USD, with production expected to begin before 2027, although he did admit that he tends to be “a little optimistic” with timelines.

He also revealed that the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 will be equipped with unsupervised autonomy and will hit the roads in California and Texas next year.

Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/zVJ9v9yXNr

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2024

Musk also introduced the Robovan, a spacious vehicle designed to transport up to 20 passengers and solve “high-density” and reduce “the cost of travel”.

“We’re going to make this, and it’s going to look like that, can you imagine going down the street and you see this coming towards you?

“That will be sick,” he said.

Autonomous ride hailing has long been a part of Musk’s plan after announcing the idea back in 2019 and as he explained this evening that “he wants to change the look of the roads”.

“The future should look like the future,” he told the audience.

Tesla Cybervan. Picture: Supplied

But as we’ve seen, the reality of autonomous driving is far more complicated due to regulation and technology.

Optimus is your personal R2D2 / C3PO, but better

It will also transform physical labor in industrial settings pic.twitter.com/iCET3a9pd8

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 11, 2024

Tesla’s corporate account tweeted that “autonomy will create the world we want”.

“It covers all transportation needs with fewer cars, since they won’t sit idle for most of the day anymore. Instead, cities will be greener & liveable.”

Here’s my first ride in Tesla’s Cybercab. pic.twitter.com/EH62due0lJ

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) October 11, 2024

Tesla fan Sawyer Merritt rode in the Robotaxi and said “It feels as if a human is driving, I’m shocked”.

“It’s pretty incredible,” he said.

Tesla Robovan. Picture: Supplied

Any launch of the technology in Australia would require changes to road rules.

Tesla is not the only company working on autonomous vehicles.

Rival concerns including Google’s Waymo are well underway with limited trials on public streets in the US.