Tesla's Elon Musk debuts futuristic Robotaxi and Robovan
Elon Musk showcased a robotaxi with two gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals at a splashy event on Thursday and added a robovan to the roster as Tesla's, opening new tab goal shifts from low-priced mass-market automaker to robotics manufacturer.
Elon Musk reached the stage in a "Cybercab" which he said will go into production in 2026 and be priced less than $30,000.
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<p><strong>Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk rides in Tesla's robotaxi at an unveilling event in Los Angeles, California, US.</strong></p>
<p>He said the cars rely on artificial intelligence and cameras and do not need other hardware such as what robotaxi rivals use, an approach investors and analysts have flagged as challenging both from a technical and regulatory standpoint.</p>
<p>"The autonomous future is here," Musk said.</p>
<p>"We have 50 fully autonomous cars here tonight. You'll see model Ys and the Cybercab. All driverless."</p><div class=)
This van-like futuristic vehicle can seat up to 20 people and transport goods.
Those attending included investors, stock analysts and Tesla fans.
Tesla's Optimus robots walk on the day of an unveiling event in Los Angeles, California, US October 10, 2024.
"Everything looks cool, but not much in terms of time lines, I'm a shareholder and pretty disappointed. I think the market wanted more definitive time lines," said Dennis Dick, equity trader at Triple D Trading.
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<p><strong>Elon and Tesla also revealed the Optimus Robot and announced it would cost about $28,000-$30,000 </strong></p>
<p>MISSED PROMISES</p>
<p>Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would have operational robotaxis by the next year.</p>
<p>After missed promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand.</p>
<p>Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its aging EV lineup.</p>
<p>Steep price cuts meant to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins.</p>
<p>Complicated technology and tight regulation have led to billions of dollars in loss for other companies attempting to crack the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut shop.</p>
<p>Some are still pushing, including General Motors', opens new tab Cruise, Amazon's opens new tab Zoox and Chinese firms such as WeRide.</p>
<p>Unlike expensive hardware such as lidar that others use, Musk is relying only on cameras and AI to run FSD to keep costs down.</p>
<p>But FSD, which requires constant driver attention, has faced regulatory and legal scrutiny with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology.</p>
<p>"We do expect to start fully autonomous unsupervised FSD in Texas and California next year. Musk said.</p>
<p>"That's with the Model 3 and Model Y."</p>
<p>He did not say if the robotaxis will use any new technology or depend on FSD.</p>
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