Today, we are closer to living in a science fiction movie where driving is not necessary when taking a taxi. Elon Musk presented the Cybercab on Thursday in Los Angeles, the driverless taxi from Tesla, which the entrepreneur expects to start production in 2026 with a price below $20,000.
Musk added that the Cybercab will revolutionize passenger transportation as its cost per kilometer will be 20 cents, one-fifth of that of a public bus.
"It's going to be amazing," declared the entrepreneur, who arrived at the vehicle presentation as a passenger in a Cybercab after autonomously navigating the streets of Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles.
Musk explained that the vehicle, a sleek silver two-door car whose batteries are recharged by induction rather than being plugged in, does not have a steering wheel or acceleration and brake pedals.
"It will save lives, many lives, and prevent injuries," he stated amidst the audience's approving cheers at the invitation-only event.
The entrepreneur assured that autonomous vehicles will be 10 times safer than human-driven cars.
He emphasized that the Cybercab robotaxi will start production by Tesla in 2016, "let's say before 2027," he pointed out, although he also acknowledged that in the past he had been "optimistic" about the commercialization dates of his products.
The event, named We, Robot and described by Musk as "a party," started nearly an hour late due to a medical emergency after one of the attendees fainted during the presentation.
Musk himself informed about the reasons for the delay through his own social network X.
Following the presentation, Tesla made 50 driverless vehicles available to the public, including Cybercab units and Tesla's already marketed vehicles such as Model 3 and Model Y, for them to test and experience "what cities will be like in the future."
During the event, Tesla also showcased a prototype of an autonomous bus capable of carrying 20 people, as well as Optimus, the robot that Musk claims will be available for sale in the near future with a price range of $20,000 to $30,000 per unit.
"It will probably cost less than a car. That's my long-term prediction," he stated, adding that Optimus "will be able to do anything, from being a teacher to taking care of children, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, or simply being your friend or making drinks."
Among all those abilities, the only ones demonstrated by the Optimus units during the event were making drinks adorned with cowboy hats and dancing in a cage to the disco music playing at the event.