Tesla Reveals Autonomous Robotaxi and Robovan, Plans 2025 Self-Driving Launch

CEO Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s new line of self-driving automobiles, together with its new Robotaxi and Robovan, with greater than three million folks tuning into the corporate’s We, Robotic occasion.

“One of many issues that we need to do, and we have seen this with the Cybertruck,” Musk mentioned Thursday night time in the course of the firm’s occasion at Warner Brother Studios in Los Angeles. “We need to change the look of the roads. The longer term ought to appear like the longer term.”

Musk mentioned Tesla envisions an thrilling, enjoyable way forward for transportation, in distinction to the awful, dystopian visions typically depicted in science fiction just like the Bladerunner collection.

“I like Blade Runner, however I do not know if we wish that future,” he mentioned. “I believe we wish that duster he’s carrying, however not the awful apocalypse.”

The presentation that bought off to a late begin resulting from an emergency on the venue showcased 50 totally autonomous Tesla automobiles that got here with no steering wheel or fuel and brake pedals.

The exhibiting was geared toward demonstrating the corporate’s progress in self-driving know-how. For these hoping to personal a cybercab, Musk mentioned the automobiles will retail for beneath $30,000.

Totally autonomous self-driving will roll out in California and Texas in 2025 for the Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y, Musk mentioned, whereas the cybercab will go into manufacturing in 2026.

A shock in the course of the occasion was Tesla’s new Robovan, able to transporting as much as 20 folks or items.

Tesla’s autonomous driving know-how is powered by AI and pc imaginative and prescient, educated on knowledge from hundreds of thousands of Tesla automobiles, which Musk mentioned makes them 10 to 30 instances safer than a human.

“I need to emphasize that the answer that we’ve got is AI and imaginative and prescient, so there is no expense of apparatus wanted,” the CEO mentioned. “So the Mannequin 3, Mannequin Y, and S that we make right now might be able to full autonomy, unsupervised, which implies that our car manufacturing price is low.”

Musk additionally highlighted that the cybercab won’t embody a plug. As a substitute, Tesla is creating inductive charging know-how to make autonomous robotic taxis extra environment friendly and handy.

Whereas the viewers cheered the innovation, viewers on Twitter had been fast to level out the authorized points of getting a automobile with no steering wheel.

The occasion was additionally streamed on X and featured Tesla’s Optimus robots dancing, bartending, and mingling with attendees.

Musk mentioned the Optimus robots are supposed to be reasonably priced and able to performing a variety of duties with a predicted long-term price of $20,000 to 30,000.

“The whole lot we have developed for our automobiles—the batteries, energy electronics, superior motors, gearboxes, software program, and AI inference pc—applies to a humanoid robotic utilizing the identical methods,” Musk mentioned. “We have made a number of progress with Optimus.”

As robots like Optimus grow to be extra frequent, the price of services and products are anticipated to say no dramatically, Musk mentioned.

“Anybody will be capable to have any services and products they need,” he mentioned. “It will likely be an age of abundance, the likes of which just about nobody has envisioned.”

Musk additionally informed the viewers he envisions a future the place autonomous automobiles will permit cities to repurpose parking tons and garages into inexperienced areas and parks.

“I believe it’ll be an excellent future,” Musk mentioned. “It is gonna be actually one thing particular.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair