Credit: Tesla
Elon Musk on Thursday unveiled what he says is a robotaxi capable of driving itself, predicting it would be available by 2027, about a decade after he first promised an autonomous vehicle.
Tesla’s CEO said the all-electric car, with no steering wheel or pedals, would cost less than $30,000, be charged wirelessly using inductive technology and would be “10 to 20 times safer” than human-driven cars.
“In an autonomous world, you can think of the car as just a small living room,” he told the audience at the Warner Brothers studio near Los Angeles.
“You’re just sitting in a cozy little living room, and you can do whatever you want while you’re in that cozy little living room, and when you come out, you’ll be at your destination.”
The future will be broadcast live
10/10, 7 p.m. PT
-Tesla (@Tesla) October 9, 2024
Few details have been given about the vehicle, whose gullwing doors are reminiscent of the Delorean made famous in the “Back to the Future” films, but Musk said Tesla already has 50 of them.
He said the company plans to begin “fully autonomous and unattended” driving next year in Texas and California with existing models, then move to production of what he called the “cybercab.” .
“I tend to be a little optimistic about the timelines, but 2026, so yes, before 2027. Let me put it that way.”
Robovan and Optimus robots
The evening, which began nearly an hour late, was rich in sunny visions of the future, but light on details.
But it also featured a mass-market touring vehicle that Musk called “The Robovan.”
The vehicle, which looks like a huge mobile toaster, has no steering wheel, pedals or driver.
It can accommodate up to 20 people or could be converted to carry cargo, Musk said.
He gave no details on production or timing.
Musk also showed off dancing humanoid robots called Optimus that he said would one day be able to perform menial tasks and offer friendship.
“I think it will be the biggest product ever,” he said, adding that he expected the robot to cost between $20,000 and $30,000.
He also didn’t give a timetable on that, and the live stream didn’t make it clear what the robot’s capabilities were, though it was shown walking among audience members, handing out plaques and serving drinks.
Credit: Tesla
Musk’s optimistic statements and devoted fan base have helped make Tesla one of the most valuable companies in the world.
While he was once a darling of the political left for his environmentalist push for transportation electrification, he has become increasingly controversial.
Since buying Twitter – which he renamed X – the free speech absolutist has reduced the platform’s staff, leading many longtime users and advertisers to abandon the forum.
And he’s currently spending time and money promoting Republican Donald Trump, echoing the billionaire presidential candidate’s dire warnings about migrants and an America in ruins, including in an exuberant appearance at a rally Trump from the weekend which was widely mocked.
Thursday night’s robotaxi reveal was long overdue.
Musk first said in 2016 that a fully automated car was two years away; a year later, he was touting a 2019 vehicle so smart that customers could sleep while he drove them.
But as many automakers have found, autonomous driving is tricky.
While many cars today feature limited automation, theoretically allowing the driver to cede some boring parts of driving to an on-board computer, the person behind the wheel must still pay attention and intervene if the car does something unpredictable.
This is because computers, unlike humans, are not very good at reacting to unexpected events or situations that they have never seen before.
Other companies, such as Google’s Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise, have been operating heavily regulated and limited robotaxi pilot programs for several years now.
Anything Tesla tries to put on the road will face the same kinds of regulatory hurdles, as well as skepticism from the general public, many of whom have never seen a driverless car.
Immediate reaction to the revelations was mixed.
“This is crazy nonsense from a liar who has been promising a robotaxi every year for a decade,” user @goodandnormal wrote on X.
Others on the platform were more enthusiastic, with some predicting that Tesla’s stock price would soar when US markets open.
“Tesla autonomous robovan”. The future looks bright,” wrote @CollinsEbot1.
© 2024 AFP
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