Elon Musk Promises A Cheaper, More Efficient Driverless Future

Read the full story on The Auto Wire

As Tesla faces growing competition from Chinese EVs, CEO Elon Musk did exactly as everyone was expecting, announcing the automaker’s first fully autonomous taxi, called the Robotaxi (Musk kept referring  to it as the Cybercab). It features no steering wheel or pedals. To sell the public on the idea, he hit three selling points: cost, safety, and sustainability.

Robotaxis are keeping people up at night in San Francisco.

The reveal, called We Robot, was done at Universal Studios in Hollywood on a movie set, which is where we’ve seen a mysterious camouflaged Tesla testing lately. That set also came in handy for attendees at the event to ride in the self-driving vehicles.

The stated cost of the Robotaxi is below $30,000. We take that with a grain of salt considering the promise of the Model 3 base model price. However, consumers will be able to just hail rides from Robotaxis they don’t own, which supposedly will be quite affordable. We’ll see how that plays out when the service finally comes to market.

Musk stated that he believes robot cars could become ten times safer than a human. That might not be a literal statement, but the sentiment is there: take the human out of the equation and driving will be far safer.

On the sustainability front, Musk brought up tired old points we’ve heard too many times about how cars as they’re designed right now spend the vast majority of their lives sitting parked, unused. That also means they last longer since a vehicle that’s constantly being driver wears out much faster. Robotaxis that aren’t privately owned will be doing that when they’re not charging, which supposedly is more efficient. Call us skeptical, but we question just how sustainable that truly will be.

Tesla apparently is going to be running full self-driving, unsupervised Model 3s and Model Ys starting next year in Texas and California. However, don’t expect the robot taxis anytime soon. Musk said that will likely be coming in 2027. We heard that promise before 2020 in the past, so again we’d take that with a grain of salt.

Interestingly enough, the Robotaxi comes with inductive charging. That means no plug to mess with, which is something people have talked about doing with EVs for some time.

Also revealed at the event was the Robovan, which can transport up to 20 people at a time. The design has almost an Art Deco vibe to the exterior, which admittedly is interesting, although the lines resemble more of a suppository, we suppose for efficiency.

Musk also talked about the future of the Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot he says can clean your house, raise your children, or just be your friend.

Ultimately, Musk talked big about a future utopia made possible through technology where anyone can have whatever products they want since all will be easily affordable. That sounds great, but such promises of bliss and ease have cycled through time repeatedly, never ending well. But the man seems to feel completely self-driving cars and personal humanoid robots will get us there, all driven by advanced artificial intelligence.

We fully expect the Tesla faithful to defend every word from the presentation, until details are shifted or memory-holed later. But will normies who just want to get around without hassle jump on board this bold new vision of Musk’s? And will he be able to bring a feasible fully autonomous car to market? The answers to those questions will determine what kind of future Tesla will enjoy as the auto industry continues to transform in the coming years.

Images via Tesla

Follow The Auto Wire on Google News.

Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.