ByAFP
April 24, 2026
A prototype of Tesla's Cybercab seen at the 8th International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2025 - Copyright AFP/File Hector RETAMAL
Tesla’s much-touted autonomous “robotaxi”, called the Cybercab, has started production, CEO Elon Musk said on Friday, a day after the carmaker reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations.
Musk posted a promotional video on X accompanied with the brief caption, “Cybercab has started production.”
The 38-second clip, mostly shot from within a driverless Cybercab, showed the vehicle rolling off the factory floor and driving onto streets.
Musk also shared a short video clip showing what appeared to be multiple gold-colored Cybercabs driving in formation on a road.
Tesla said on Wednesday it was on track to commence “volume production” of both its Cybercab and Tesla Semi this year, after reporting first-quarter profits of $477 million.
Cybercab — billed as a self-driving robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals — was first unveiled in the fall of 2024, with Musk predicting at the time that it would become available in 2027.
Tesla began offering robotaxi services to “early access” users on an invitation-only basis in the US city of Austin, Texas, last June.
The auto manufacturer posted a photo in February showing employees gathered around a Cybercab on a factory floor, with the caption “First Cybercab off the production line at Giga Texas.”
Self-driving cars will ‘not fix’ urban parking problem
By Dr. Tim Sandle
With an ageing population in need of transport, Japan is betting on autonomous cars. — © AFP
The global AI transportation market is expected to grow from USD $2.12 billion in 2023 to USD $10.25 billion by 2033, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.07%.
Self-driving cars, among various accolades, are supposed to fix urban parking. Shared autonomous fleets could drop passengers and relocate, freeing high-value city land for housing, parks, and commercial use. Although this is not something that can be achieved now, the long-run case has a degree of coherence about it. Nonetheless, the short-run story is the opposite, and it is not being adequately covered.
In the transition period, before shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) reach critical mass, autonomous vehicles cruising between drop-offs without parking add traffic volume without reducing the number of cars seeking spaces. A 2024 peer-reviewed study found that parking demand structures shift in ways that create new friction before they ease it. The fix arrives late. The disruption arrives first.
For example, in Manhattan alone, a single parking space costs up to $6,000 to build, with the U.S. parking industry generating $21 billion in 2022.
By 2030 it is estimated there will be 39 million AVs on the road. With this prediction, study data suggests:
Automation could also save up to 90% on vehicle insurance premiums.
Autonomous vehicle testing has already decreased the number of accidents across the United States from 9.1 per million miles to 4.6 per million miles.
About 25% of fatal car accidents result from the speed at which cars travel, and this should be better regulated with self-driving cars.
By 2050, self-driving cars could save around 21,700 lives and prevent about 4.22 million accidents every year.
Automation could lead to an 80% reduction in traffic-related problems.
Automation could reduce car emissions by up to 90%.
Also, nothing is likely in the short-term, full US fleet automation is not projected before 2045, meaning large-scale parking relief is at minimum two decades away
A new strategy is needed, and this leads to a new study proposal. To achieve real parking reductions, AVs must be shared, pooled, metro-wide, and paired with high-capacity public transit. Remove any one condition and the reduction shrinks to near zero
Why the Conditions Are Hard to Meet
Research from the University of Oregon identified four requirements for AVs to meaningfully cut urban parking demand. Vehicles must be shared, not privately owned. Riders must pool trips. Deployment must cover entire metro areas. And AVs must work alongside, not instead of, public transit. Current deployments meet none of those conditions at scale. Most autonomous vehicles sold today are privately owned and park exactly where their human-driven predecessors did.
The global smart parking market is projected to grow from $5.5 billion in 2023 to $8.3 billion by 2033, in part driven by AV integration. The cities best placed to benefit are those building shared mobility infrastructure now. Most are not.
By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
April 23, 2026With an ageing population in need of transport, Japan is betting on autonomous cars. — © AFP
The global AI transportation market is expected to grow from USD $2.12 billion in 2023 to USD $10.25 billion by 2033, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.07%.
Self-driving cars, among various accolades, are supposed to fix urban parking. Shared autonomous fleets could drop passengers and relocate, freeing high-value city land for housing, parks, and commercial use. Although this is not something that can be achieved now, the long-run case has a degree of coherence about it. Nonetheless, the short-run story is the opposite, and it is not being adequately covered.
In the transition period, before shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) reach critical mass, autonomous vehicles cruising between drop-offs without parking add traffic volume without reducing the number of cars seeking spaces. A 2024 peer-reviewed study found that parking demand structures shift in ways that create new friction before they ease it. The fix arrives late. The disruption arrives first.
For example, in Manhattan alone, a single parking space costs up to $6,000 to build, with the U.S. parking industry generating $21 billion in 2022.
By 2030 it is estimated there will be 39 million AVs on the road. With this prediction, study data suggests:
Automation could also save up to 90% on vehicle insurance premiums.
Autonomous vehicle testing has already decreased the number of accidents across the United States from 9.1 per million miles to 4.6 per million miles.
About 25% of fatal car accidents result from the speed at which cars travel, and this should be better regulated with self-driving cars.
By 2050, self-driving cars could save around 21,700 lives and prevent about 4.22 million accidents every year.
Automation could lead to an 80% reduction in traffic-related problems.
Automation could reduce car emissions by up to 90%.
Also, nothing is likely in the short-term, full US fleet automation is not projected before 2045, meaning large-scale parking relief is at minimum two decades away
A new strategy is needed, and this leads to a new study proposal. To achieve real parking reductions, AVs must be shared, pooled, metro-wide, and paired with high-capacity public transit. Remove any one condition and the reduction shrinks to near zero
Why the Conditions Are Hard to Meet
Research from the University of Oregon identified four requirements for AVs to meaningfully cut urban parking demand. Vehicles must be shared, not privately owned. Riders must pool trips. Deployment must cover entire metro areas. And AVs must work alongside, not instead of, public transit. Current deployments meet none of those conditions at scale. Most autonomous vehicles sold today are privately owned and park exactly where their human-driven predecessors did.
The global smart parking market is projected to grow from $5.5 billion in 2023 to $8.3 billion by 2033, in part driven by AV integration. The cities best placed to benefit are those building shared mobility infrastructure now. Most are not.
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