Investing.com-- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) unveiled its long-awaited Cybercab robotaxi on Thursday evening, with CEO Elon Musk claiming that the vehicle will go into production, optimistically, by 2026, and will cost less than $30,000.
Tesla also unveiled the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle capable of seating up to 20 people, as well as an updated model of its humanoid robot, called “Optimus.”
Tesla made the reveals at its “We, Robot” event held at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California. The event was streamed live on X, and was delayed by a medical emergency.
The Cybercab model has no steering wheel or pedals, and seats two. Musk has been teasing the model for nearly five years, although it will still need to clear a slew of regulatory hurdles before going into production.
Musk said that Tesla will begin rolling out unsupervised, full self driving in some of its current models by 2025, and that the Cybercab will likely go into production by 2026.
Musk claimed that the operating costs of the Cybercab will be around 20 cents a mile, without elaborating, and that the model would cost less than $30,000.
“It’ll save lives,” Musk said, while claiming that autonomous vehicles will be “ten times” safer than human drivers.
The new vehicles, as well as the Optimus robot, will incorporate artificial intelligence.
Tesla’s shift into AI and autonomous driving comes as the company grapples with a steady decline in sales, amid increased competition in top market China and sluggish sales in the West.
The company is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in annual deliveries in 2024.
On the robotaxi front, Tesla is still lagging companies such as Waymo and Cruise, which both offer robotaxi services in select American cities. But the services have been marked by numerous traffic incidents and even injuries.
Tesla is also facing increased scrutiny over its claims of full self driving, especially after a couple of high-profile accidents involving the software.