The studios are where Hollywood creates magical worlds from strange angles and special effects. So what better place to show off Tesla Cybercab, a two-door self-driving taxi approved by CEO Elon Musk said to be in production in just three years—but that’s still intriguingly lacking in details about the company?
Nearly an hour after Tesla said the launch event would begin, Musk was escorted to the butterfly door of the silver prototype by a man dressed as an astronaut. He takes a quick, seemingly drive-free romp through the dark, spooky streets of Warner Bros. Studios in Southern California, before getting out of the car to take the stage.
Then, before an audience of excited Tesla fans and shareholders, Musk called the entire setup a “kit” – a far cry from the messy, crowded streets where one day A self-driving car can finally be tested.
Tesla also introduced a “Robovan” designed to autonomously move up to 20 people. Like the Cybercab, the truck appears to have no pedals or steering wheel, just a seat.
Musk, an admitted collector of missed deadlines, has promised Tesla’s self-driving car technology since 2016. On Thursday night, he made a few more promises. Musk said the fully autonomous (unattended) system, a self-driving technology, will be available in California and Texas next year. He said the Cybercab will go into production in 2026 and will eventually cost less than $30,000.
“I think it will be a glorious future,” he said.
Musk reiterated a vision he has articulated before: that one day, Tesla owners could send their cars out to drive themselves, ferrying others around to increase the utility of each the car increased 5 to 10 times. In the future, one person could own a fleet of self-driving taxis and “take care of them like a shepherd takes care of his flock,” Musk said. Tesla has shown off mockups of an Uber-like app that could allow drivers to hail an automated Tesla taxi. But Musk did not present new details about the service on Thursday.
The video rendering shows the robot cleaning the interior of the Cybercab, pointing to a solution to the oft-cited autonomous taxi problem — how to keep things clean without the assistance of a driver. Musk said the robotaxi will also be wirelessly charged via inductive charging. However, the timeline for both technological features is yet to be mentioned.
