Jay Peters
The Cybercab and the Robovan.
Why didn’t Tesla call it the Cybervan?
Cars Archive
Archives for October 2024
Jay Peters
Here’s an Optimus bartender.
It’s wearing a cowboy hat, for some reason.
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge
Andrew J. Hawkins
Ok that’s a wrap!
Lots to parse. A few surprises. But as we’ve said before, the robotaxis are operating in a highly controlled setting and none of this is guaranteed to launch when Musk predicts it will. So stay tuned.
Andrew J. Hawkins
Tesla’s Optimus robot is serving drinks.
The bots will be mingling with guests at the event, Musk says, who implores his guests to “be nice” to the robots.
Andrew J. Hawkins
And yes, there’s a robovan.
Elon is putting the emphasis on the “bo” in robovan, so I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying at first. But yeah, it’s obviously not a conventional looking van.
Tesla’s Robovan is the surprise of the night
Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins
Cybercab doesn’t have a plug.
The robotaxi will charge wirelessly through an inductive charger, Musk says. Tesla has long teased wireless charging for its EVs.
Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins
Again, we’re getting the pitch for ‘inference compute.’
This is becoming a running theme with Musk: the idea that the unused compute power of millions of idle Tesla vehicles could be used like Amazon’s cloud service business. Of course, it’s not that easy.
Andrew J. Hawkins
“I think it’s going to be a glorious future.”
Elon says he plans on starting fully autonomous Model 3 and Model Y trips in Texas and California “next year.” Cybercab won’t go into production until “2026... before 2027.”
Andrew J. Hawkins
“And yes, you’ll be able to buy one.”
Cheers as Musk says the cost will be “below $30,000.” Take that with a huge grain of salt.
Andrew J. Hawkins
“With autonomy, you get your time back. This is a very big deal.”
Elon selling autonomous cars as a time saver, which is a very familiar argument for anyone who has been paying attention to the AV industry.
Andrew J. Hawkins
OK here it is. The Tesla robotaxi.
Elon gets in. It’s driving him through the film lot. There are 20 of them on the lot, and another 30 driverless Model Ys.
Andrew J. Hawkins