Elon Musk unveils the Robovan: the biggest surprise from Tesla's We, Robot event
Rebecca Bellan and Maxwell Zeff
Thu, October 10, 2024
Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of Tesla's Robovan on Thursday night during the company's We, Robot event in Los Angeles. The Robovan will be an electric, autonomous vehicle roughly the size of a bus, designed for transporting people around high density areas. It will carry up to 20 people at a time and also transport goods, according to Musk.
"We're going to make this, and it's going to look like that," said Musk on Thursday night as the Robovan rolled towards center stage. That's about as much as Musk was willing to say, and we're not even sure that much is true.
Musk didn’t mention how much the Robovan would cost, how Tesla would produce it, or when it will come out. However, it does look pretty cool.
Elon Musk unveiling the Robovan at Tesla's We, Robot event. (Image credit: Tesla)Image Credits:Tesla
The Robovan has a retro-futuristic look – somewhere between a bus from The Jetsons and a toaster from the 1950s. It features silver metallic sides with black details, and strips of light running parallel to the ground along its sides, with doors that slide out from the middle. Inside, there are seats and room to stand, with tinted windows throughout. There is no steering wheel, since it’s autonomous.
"One of the things we want to do – and we've done this with the Cybertruck – is we want to change the look of the roads," said Musk. "The future should look like the future," he said, repeating an old line.
Rebecca Bellan and Maxwell Zeff
Thu, October 10, 2024
Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of Tesla's Robovan on Thursday night during the company's We, Robot event in Los Angeles. The Robovan will be an electric, autonomous vehicle roughly the size of a bus, designed for transporting people around high density areas. It will carry up to 20 people at a time and also transport goods, according to Musk.
"We're going to make this, and it's going to look like that," said Musk on Thursday night as the Robovan rolled towards center stage. That's about as much as Musk was willing to say, and we're not even sure that much is true.
Musk didn’t mention how much the Robovan would cost, how Tesla would produce it, or when it will come out. However, it does look pretty cool.
Elon Musk unveiling the Robovan at Tesla's We, Robot event. (Image credit: Tesla)Image Credits:TeslaThe Robovan has a retro-futuristic look – somewhere between a bus from The Jetsons and a toaster from the 1950s. It features silver metallic sides with black details, and strips of light running parallel to the ground along its sides, with doors that slide out from the middle. Inside, there are seats and room to stand, with tinted windows throughout. There is no steering wheel, since it’s autonomous.
"One of the things we want to do – and we've done this with the Cybertruck – is we want to change the look of the roads," said Musk. "The future should look like the future," he said, repeating an old line.
The inside of the Robovan prototype. (Image credit: Tesla)
It looks similar to other purpose-built robotaxis, like those designed by Zoox and Cruise. Only Tesla’s van is much bigger. In China, WeRide has built a similar Robobus.
That said, the Robovan showed on Thursday is only a prototype. Despite what Musk says, there's no telling what the real thing will look like or when it will actually come out.
Tesla had kept the design of the vehicles it introduced on Thursday pretty close to the chest. The only real hint we had was from Tesla’s 2023 Investor Day, when the automaker teased a couple of new vehicles that appeared to be designed for volume production: One smaller vehicle that appears now to be the Cybercab, and a larger one that we can now say is likely the Robovan.
The stated goal at the time was to produce 20 million vehicles per year by 2030. That would mean that Tesla needs to increase production and sales by about 15 times from 2022.
During Thursday’s event, Musk did not outline any plans for building new production facilities or retooling existing facilities to accommodate either the Cybercab or the Robovan. He also didn’t provide much in the way of timelines for the Robovan, though he predicted the Cybercab would start production in 2026 or 2027.
It looks similar to other purpose-built robotaxis, like those designed by Zoox and Cruise. Only Tesla’s van is much bigger. In China, WeRide has built a similar Robobus.
That said, the Robovan showed on Thursday is only a prototype. Despite what Musk says, there's no telling what the real thing will look like or when it will actually come out.
Tesla had kept the design of the vehicles it introduced on Thursday pretty close to the chest. The only real hint we had was from Tesla’s 2023 Investor Day, when the automaker teased a couple of new vehicles that appeared to be designed for volume production: One smaller vehicle that appears now to be the Cybercab, and a larger one that we can now say is likely the Robovan.
The stated goal at the time was to produce 20 million vehicles per year by 2030. That would mean that Tesla needs to increase production and sales by about 15 times from 2022.
During Thursday’s event, Musk did not outline any plans for building new production facilities or retooling existing facilities to accommodate either the Cybercab or the Robovan. He also didn’t provide much in the way of timelines for the Robovan, though he predicted the Cybercab would start production in 2026 or 2027.
Tesla's Cybercab robotaxi is finally here, with a $30K price tag — plus a surprise Robovan
Pras Subramanian · Senior Reporter
Fri, October 11, 2024
Tesla (TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk finally revealed the electric vehicle maker's long-awaited driverless robotaxi on Thursday night, alongside a surprise — a larger autonomous Robovan designed to transport a lot more people.
After a nearly one-hour delay, attendees at the “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles were given an up-close introduction to two of Tesla's latest creations, a key strategic focus for the EV pioneer.
Musk arrived via the robotaxi — dubbed "Cybercab" — which featured a Cybertruck-like light bar in the front, an small angular profile, scissor-like doors, and a minimalist interior. The Cybercab appeared to navigate the Warner Brothers Studios closed-course lot on the way to the event stage.
Pras Subramanian · Senior Reporter
Fri, October 11, 2024
Tesla (TSLA) and its CEO Elon Musk finally revealed the electric vehicle maker's long-awaited driverless robotaxi on Thursday night, alongside a surprise — a larger autonomous Robovan designed to transport a lot more people.
After a nearly one-hour delay, attendees at the “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles were given an up-close introduction to two of Tesla's latest creations, a key strategic focus for the EV pioneer.
Musk arrived via the robotaxi — dubbed "Cybercab" — which featured a Cybertruck-like light bar in the front, an small angular profile, scissor-like doors, and a minimalist interior. The Cybercab appeared to navigate the Warner Brothers Studios closed-course lot on the way to the event stage.
The Tesla Cybercab robotaxi (credit: Tesla) · Tesla
As expected, the Cybercab features no steering wheels or pedals, so is designed to be fully autonomous.
“We’ll move from supervised full self-driving, to unsupervised full self-driving,” Musk said, meaning the cars using this latest software will no longer need humans to interact if need be.
Musk said he expects the small EV to cost less than $30,000 when it arrives some time in 2026, but before 2027. The Cybercab will charge up via wireless induction technology, possibly using mats or tracks on roads.
A Tesla Cybercab robotaxi (credit: Tesla) · Tesla
Tesla will start unsupervised full self-driving (FSD) trials in Texas and California next year, with Model 3 and Model Y test vehicles. Musk said further unsupervised FSD trials will take place wherever regulators allow them.
Wall Street analysts envision owners of the existing fleet of Teslas out on the road will be able to put those models on the company's rideshare service, once the EVs are combined with FSD and Tesla’s upcoming rideshare mobility app. That would unlock a tremendous amount of value and would be a true game-changer, the analysts believe.
As expected, the Cybercab features no steering wheels or pedals, so is designed to be fully autonomous.
“We’ll move from supervised full self-driving, to unsupervised full self-driving,” Musk said, meaning the cars using this latest software will no longer need humans to interact if need be.
Musk said he expects the small EV to cost less than $30,000 when it arrives some time in 2026, but before 2027. The Cybercab will charge up via wireless induction technology, possibly using mats or tracks on roads.
Tesla will start unsupervised full self-driving (FSD) trials in Texas and California next year, with Model 3 and Model Y test vehicles. Musk said further unsupervised FSD trials will take place wherever regulators allow them.
Wall Street analysts envision owners of the existing fleet of Teslas out on the road will be able to put those models on the company's rideshare service, once the EVs are combined with FSD and Tesla’s upcoming rideshare mobility app. That would unlock a tremendous amount of value and would be a true game-changer, the analysts believe.
Elon Musk at the "We, Robot" event (credit: Tesla) · Tesla
Tesla did not reveal its upcoming lower-cost “next-gen” model, which many analysts had expected. Though it is possible the Cybercab is essentially sharing the same chassis as the new passenger vehicle, as the car maker has suggested in the past. The sub-$30K next-gen EV will arrive later this year, Tesla has previously confirmed.
Surprise reveal
In an unexpected move, Tesla debuted the Robovan — a much larger EV with hidden wheels and no real windshield. The Robovan's design had echoes of the science-fiction movie Blade Runner, with wide light bars across the front facade and monolithic design. Musk said the Robovan is designed to transport up to 20 people, or a large amount of cargo, and can be adapted for commercial or personal use, according to Tesla.
No date of service or pricing was given for the Robovan.
Tesla did not reveal its upcoming lower-cost “next-gen” model, which many analysts had expected. Though it is possible the Cybercab is essentially sharing the same chassis as the new passenger vehicle, as the car maker has suggested in the past. The sub-$30K next-gen EV will arrive later this year, Tesla has previously confirmed.
Surprise reveal
In an unexpected move, Tesla debuted the Robovan — a much larger EV with hidden wheels and no real windshield. The Robovan's design had echoes of the science-fiction movie Blade Runner, with wide light bars across the front facade and monolithic design. Musk said the Robovan is designed to transport up to 20 people, or a large amount of cargo, and can be adapted for commercial or personal use, according to Tesla.
No date of service or pricing was given for the Robovan.
The Tesla Robovan EV (credit: Tesla) · Tesla
Finally Musk brought out a group of Optimus robots, walking on their own into the event space. Musk said the robots would likely cost between $20,000 and $30,000 when they eventually go on sale years from now — a claim he has made in the past.
Musk said the robots would mingle with attendees at the event, and even serve drinks to them at the bar.
In addition to interacting to the robots, attendees were offered rides in the Cybercabs and Model 3 and Model Y EVs operating autonomously.
Finally Musk brought out a group of Optimus robots, walking on their own into the event space. Musk said the robots would likely cost between $20,000 and $30,000 when they eventually go on sale years from now — a claim he has made in the past.
Musk said the robots would mingle with attendees at the event, and even serve drinks to them at the bar.
In addition to interacting to the robots, attendees were offered rides in the Cybercabs and Model 3 and Model Y EVs operating autonomously.
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