Tesla has finally presented its long-awaited self-driving taxis. The two-person Cybercab with gull-wing doors and the Robovan, which should transport larger groups cheaply.
During Tesla’s ‘We Robot’ event, CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybercab as expected. It is a totally new Tesla vehicle specifically built without a steering wheel and pedals. “I hope that goes well, we’ll find out,” Musk joked during the presentation. “But we are going from self-driving with supervision to self-driving without supervision. So you can fall asleep and only wake up at your destination.”
According to Musk, the Cybercab is much safer than a normal car, ‘ten to twenty times safer’, according to the CEO. “This is very important. It’s going to save a lot of lives and prevent a lot of injuries,” Musk said of the self-driving system. That won’t be expensive, the CEO said: as low as 20 cents per mile, compared to $1 for a bus. “Think of it as personalized public transportation,” Musk explained. According to the CEO, the prices will be even lower than those of a bus ticket, but with the convenience and privacy of a taxi.
Huge change of course for Tesla
Tesla wants to put fully self-driving taxis on the road in California and Texas from next year. These are converted Model Ys, and the Cybercab will go into production in 2026 or 2027. According to Musk, it will soon be possible to buy a Cybercab yourself ‘for less than $30,000’. Charging the car is no longer done with a plug, but with induction. The Cybercab simply parks above an induction charger and is then charged.
The move is a huge change in direction for Tesla, which until now has made its money from selling cars. Musk wants to move towards a revenue model based on self-driving taxis and artificial intelligence. Musk still has to fulfill that promise. It appears that like recent Tesla cars, the Cybercab does not have lidar scanners. The partially self-driving mode on current Teslas works with cameras, something that Musk believes is safe enough. Every competitor uses a lidar system, which maps the environment in 3D and is less sensitive to weather.
Musk paints a rosy picture of the future in which parking spaces are a thing of the past and can be turned into parks. Cars no longer have to park if we can all just get out at our destination, Musk proposes. The robot taxi continues driving and charges itself elsewhere.
‘Surprise’: Robovan is also coming
“What if you need a vehicle bigger than a Model Y,” Musk asked himself out loud as a very futuristic looking van emerged. The Robovan can accommodate up to 20 people and looks like it came straight out of a science fiction movie. “We’re going to make this real. Imagine this driving towards you, that’s sick,” Musk said.
In addition to large groups, the Robovan can also transport goods. According to Musk, the van is the solution for very busy areas, such as the city center.
And then there was also attention for Tesla’s robot. It has a lot in common with the robot car, Musk says. It’s the same robovision systems and artificial intelligence that let the devices find their way in the world, “but with arms and legs instead of wheels.” During the event, a small army of Teslabots walks through the audience. Musk says that such a robot will soon cost ‘twenty to thirty thousand dollars’, ‘less than a car’. The Teslabot then becomes a personal butler that can take care of all the housework.
“It will be a time of abundance, the likes of which no one has ever imagined,” Musk concludes his presentation.
More news about Tesla and don’t miss anything with our Bright app.
Source: www.bright.nl
