Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, has promised a futuristic car like Tesla’s (TSLA) – Get a report from Tesla Inc future vehicle.
The long-awaited Cybertruck was thought to have pushed the boundaries of what could be done today with regard to cars, but the billionaire does not seem to be thinking. He has just announced that Tesla is working on its robotaxi.
For Musk, robotaxi means self-driving cars capable of operating without anyone inside and capable of picking up passengers and delivering them to locations chosen by the customer.
Basically a robotic version of Uber (UBER) – Get a report from Uber Technologies, Inc. or Lyft (LYFT) – Get a Class A report from Lyft, Inc..
On April 7, he promised that this vehicle, which will be neither a Model 3 sedan nor a Model Y SUV, as he hinted in 2019, will be a new model.
“There will be a special Robotaxi that will look quite futuristic,” said the technology mogul during the inauguration of Tesla’s $ 1.1 billion plant in Texas.
He simply gave more details during the call for earnings for the first quarter.
“We are also working on a new vehicle that I mentioned at the launch of Giga Texas, which is a special Robotaxi,” Musk told analysts. “It’s highly optimized for autonomy.”
No steering wheel or pedals
This means that this car “will not have a steering wheel or pedals”, added the tycoon.
“And there are a number of other innovations around it that I think are quite exciting. But it’s fundamentally optimized. For example, trying to get the lowest well-thought-out price per mile per kilometer.”
“I think it’s going to be a very powerful product,” Musk said.
The richest man in the world adds that Tesla plans to introduce this revolutionary vehicle in 2023 and start production in 2024.
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“We are aiming to reach large-scale production in 2024. So I think this will really be a huge engine for Tesla’s growth,” Musk added without elaborating.
“We don’t want to interfere too much with an exciting product announcement, so I think we will strive to make a product event for Robotaxi next year and go into more detail,” the serial entrepreneur said when asked for details.
The trip will cost less than a subsidized bus ticket
He did not say, for example, whether Tesla would create a subscription system or be under the Uber model: an application that allows you to order the vehicle when you need it and then the race is debited directly from our credit card.
“I think that especially with Robotaxi and autonomy, we will provide consumers with the lowest cost per mile of transport they have ever experienced,” Musk said. “With Robotaxi like maybe five to 10 times or the price per mile, it’s really quite significant.”
As for the price of the trip, he hinted that it would be cheaper than the subsidized price of a bus ticket or a subway ticket.
“Look at some of our forecasts, it seems that traveling with Robotaxi will cost less than a bus ticket for a subsidized bus ticket, for a subsidized subway ticket,” said the CEO of Tesla.
He also said Tesla remains on track to begin cybercar production next year in Austin.
“The future is very exciting,” said the billionaire. “I have never been more optimistic or excited about the future, the future of Tesla, than I am now.
One of the biggest obstacles you need to overcome to have a fleet of robots would be to reach the fifth level of autonomous driving, in other words, when the car can drive alone without the presence of a person behind the wheel.
The driving assistance system currently being developed by Tesla, fully self-driving (FSD), sold for $ 12,000, does not allow vehicles to be autonomous.
But Musk has promised that the FSD will be improved and must make Tesla cars self-driving by the end of the year. It is important to note that the billionaire has already made this promise several times without even realizing it.
There is also regulation. It is not certain that regulators will be ready when it comes to autonomous cars by 2024.