Elon Musk reveals Tesla’s Robotaxi and Robovan

Robotaxi

Elon Musk showed off Tesla’s upcoming driverless taxi at its “We, Robot” on Thursday evening.

The unveiling took place on a lot in Warner Bros. Discovery’s movie studio in Burbank, California. The location allowed Tesla to show off its autonomous driving capabilities without running into any unexpected situations with traffic.

Musk walked into the event and entered a sleek-looking silver Robotaxi, a two-door vehicle that opened upward with butterfly-style doors.

The Robotaxi, also referred to as Cybercab, then took Musk on a ride around the lot before he exited to kick off the event.

Musk said the Robotaxi has no steering wheel or pedals and does not need to be plugged in. Instead, he said the electric vehicle relies on inductive charging and simply needs to drive over the charger to charge.

Elon Musk reveals Tesla's Robotaxi and Robovan
Elon Musk reveals Tesla’s Robotaxi and Robovan

Musk said Tesla had at least 20 Cybercabs, and that there were 50 fully autonomous vehicles at the event, some of which were already driving around without any people in them.

Musk said Tesla would have unsupervised fully autonomous vehicles, the Model 3 and the Model Y, on the road in California and Texas next year and that the Cybercab would be in production before 2027. However, Musk himself noted his tendency to be optimistic on timelines, regularly delivering products later than he initially estimates.

Tesla’s upcoming RobotaxiTesla

He also said the Cybercabs would be available to buy. He expects them to cost less than $30,000.

Tesla provided more details in a post on X, announcing that the Robotaxi service would have no driver fee and that the fully self-driving vehicles would use cameras alone, rather than radar or lidar equipment. The company also said customers could call the Robotaxi once and use it for as long as it’s needed, whether for a short trip or for a full day.

Musk did not share many specifics about the technology behind the Robotaxis or the safety features. Tesla has been scrutinized in the past over the safety of its driver-assistance systems.

Tesla also announced the Robovan, a large shuttle van that Musk said could seat up to 20 people.

A Tesla Robovan prototype makes its way through a Los Angeles-area setScreenshot

Musk also touted Optimus, a humanoid robot that he said would cost $28,000 to $30,000, but did not share a timeline on when the robot would be available.

“I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind,” Musk said, adding, “I think everyone’s going to want their Optimus buddy.”

At the end of the presentation, several of the robots danced on the stage to a light show.

Tesla Optimus robot prototypes walk onto the stage with Elon MuskScreengrab