Cybercab was introduced by Elon Musk

Tesla boss Elon Musk unveiled the company’s long-awaited robotaxi, Cybercab, at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California.

The futuristic-looking car, which has two wing-like doors – and no pedals or steering wheel – put Mr Musk in front of an audience eager to hear details about the project he sees as key. locked in for Tesla’s next chapter.

At the event titled “We, Robot,” the billionaire reiterated his view that fully autonomous vehicles will be safer than those operated by humans and could even make money for their owners. by leasing for transportation.

However, investors have so far not shared his enthusiasm – Tesla’s share price fell after US markets opened on Friday morning.

Its share value fell more than 8%, trading at around $219, as of 11:45 Eastern Time (16:45 BST).

Meanwhile, shares of ride-hailing rivals Uber and Lyft – which have their own autonomous ambitions – both traded up to 10% higher.

Questions are being asked about Mr Musk’s prediction is that Cybercab production will begin “before 2027”, given his track record of failing to meet his own deadlines.

“I tend to be bullish on time frames,” he joked during the event.

He said the Cybercab – which will compete with rivals including Alphabet-owned Waymo – would cost less than $30,000 (£23,000).

However, analysts have cast doubt on how realistic that plan is.

“It would be extremely difficult for Tesla to deliver a new vehicle at that price in that time period,” said Paul Miller, from research group Forrester.

“If there are no outside subsidies, or Tesla is losing money on every vehicle, it seems unreasonable to launch at anything close to that price this decade,” he added.

Mr. Musk also said he expected to see “fully unattended autonomy” technology available on Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y in Texas and California next year “with authorization in any regulatory agency approve.”

But that approval is not guaranteed.

“It’s a big hunk of metal running down the road at high speeds, so the safety concerns are huge,” said Samitha Samaranayake, an assistant professor of engineering at Cornell University.

Tesla’s self-driving ambitions rely on cameras that are cheaper than radar and Lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors, which are the technological backbone of many of its competitors’ vehicles.

By teaching cars to drive, Tesla plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) is trained using raw data it collects from millions of its vehicles.

However, the research community “doesn’t care whether Tesla’s working style can provide the safety guarantees we want,” Mr. Samaranayake said.

The cybercab project was delayed, initially overdue will be released in August.

This summer, in a post on X Formerly of Twitter, Mr. Musk said the wait was due to design changes he felt were important.

Meanwhile, competing robotaxis are already operating on some roads in the US.

Tesla also appears poised to post its first annual sales decline as competitors rush into the electric vehicle market, even as sales have eased.

Despite that gloomy backdrop, Tuesday’s event was a spectacle — complete with Tesla humanoid robots dancing and serving drinks to attendees.

Mr. Musk also revealed another prototype of “Robovan” that can carry up to 20 passengers at a time.

The sleek space shuttle “could be a mode of transportation in the coming years that Tesla takes advantage of,” said Wedbush Securities CEO Dan Ives, who attended the event in person.

Another analyst said the event felt like a step back down memory lane while also signaling the road ahead.

“Musk has done a great job of painting an ideal future for transportation, one that promises to both free up our time and increase productivity,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. safe”.

But despite his showmanship, there were doubts about whether he could deliver the vision he had outlined.

“There are still many questions about how this will be achieved from a practical standpoint,” Caldwell added.

The deployment of robotaxis has encountered obstacles, with driverless cars operated by a subsidiary of General Motors Cruise suspended in San Francisco after a pedestrian fell.

But the field continues to expand.

Waymo speak in early October, it will add the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to its robotaxi fleet after the vehicles undergo road testing with the company’s technology.

Ride-hailing giant Uber also wants to add more autonomous vehicles to its fleet to expand delivery and ride-sharing options for customers.

It announced a multi-year alliance with driverless vehicle developer Cruise in August.

Chinese technology company Baidu also according to the report is looking to expand its robotaxi division, Apollo Go, beyond China – where the vehicles are operating in several cities.

Additional reporting by Liv McMahon