After years of teasing, Tesla is finally about to pull back the curtain on one of its most outlandish products yet.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk will unveil the ‘Robotaxi’ at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday (October 10).
Also known as ‘Cybercab’, the taxi is expected to operate without a driver (no steering wheel or pedals) and offer a new transportation service operated by Tesla.
Ahead of its official unveiling, ChatGPT has provided a glimpse of what Tesla’s Robotaxi could look like.
The artist’s impression of the chatbot includes two passenger seats, a silver steel body, and a camera on the roof to detect the environment.
According to ChatGPT, which has provided an artistic rendering based on available information, Robotaxi will feature two passenger seats and a camera on top.
The promotional image for the Tesla event shows a close-up of a digital camera lens that looks like an eye, possibly representing the eye of a robot or artificial intelligence (AI) system.
Billionaire Musk has already confirmed Thursday’s opening event, which will be called “We Robot,” in reference to the movie “I Robot.”
In X, he aware an image of the official invitation to the event with the caption: “This will be one for the history books.”
The Tesla image shows a close-up of a digital camera lens that looks like an eye, possibly the eye of a robot or artificial intelligence system, and a hint at the vehicle’s traffic-detection capabilities.
The commentators have compared to one of the most famous AIs in film history: the evil HAL from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.
Although the exact name of the upcoming vehicle has yet to be confirmed, Musk has referred to it as ‘Cybercab’, suggesting it could be similar in appearance to Tesla’s Cybertruck.
There’s no official word on how much it would cost, but it could be similar to the Cybertruck, which sells for around $80,000 (£60,000) or more.
Musk’s Robotaxi concept, discussed nearly a decade ago, is an autonomous vehicle and an alternative to the manned taxis that line the world’s streets.
Passengers can request a Robotaxi ride through an app, similar to Uber or Lyft, and be transported from A to B without having to interact with a driver, because there aren’t any.
Tesla’s promotional image shows a close-up of a digital camera lens that looks like an eye that has been compared to one of the most famous AIs in film history: the evil HAL from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ by Stanley Kubrick.
Musk’s Robotaxi concept, discussed nearly a decade ago, is an autonomous vehicle and an alternative to the manned taxis that line the world’s streets.
Meanwhile, the Robotaxi owner could send their vehicle to make the trip, rather than having to get in the vehicle and drive it themselves, with the tap of an app.
In theory, people could buy several Tesla Robotaxis and send them all on different trips at the same time, earning money from the comfort of their own couch.
Musk previously tweeted: “It’s much more productive to manage a fleet of Robotaxis than to drive just one taxi.”
For the passenger, the trips could cost less than a bus ticket, according to Musk, while the money would mostly go to the owner of the Robotaxi (Tesla would get a certain percentage of each fare).
But in addition to putting taxi drivers out of business, Robotaxi’s lack of human drivers could be worrying for customers.
The exact name is to be confirmed, but Musk has referred to it as ‘Cybercab’, suggesting it could be similar in appearance to Tesla’s Cybertruck (pictured).
For Tesla, the ultimate goal is to provide its vehicles with fully autonomous driving capability, which is known in the industry as Level 5 autonomy.
Currently, Tesla vehicles have intelligent autonomous features that assist a human driver, but they are nowhere near hitting the road without someone behind the wheel.
Potentially, the We Robot event could announce a breakthrough that brings us closer to level 5, allowing Robotaxi to actually be used.
However, Tesla would also need regulatory approval in states and countries for its Robotaxi vision to be up and running.
What we know about Robotaxi comes from rumors and information from Elon Musk, who has teased the vehicle over the years.
In April 2022, it revealed that it hoped to begin mass production of the Robotaxi in 2024, although this timeline may have been pushed back.
He said at the time: ‘We are also working on a new vehicle that I mentioned at the Giga Texas opening, which is a dedicated Robotaxi.
‘It will be highly optimized for autonomy, which means it will have no steering wheel or pedals.
Elon Musk said the unveiling event, intended to showcase the Robotaxi, will be “one for the history books.”
In theory, people could buy several Tesla Robotaxis and send them all on different trips at the same time.
“If we look at some of our projections, it would appear that a robotaxi ride will cost less than a bus ticket, a subsidized bus ticket or a subsidized metro ticket.”
Musk also teased “a number of other innovations” included in the new vehicle that he said “are pretty exciting,” but did not elaborate.
However, it’s worth keeping in mind that Tesla’s Cybertruck became available to customers in November last year, almost four years after it was first unveiled.
The $80,000 Cybertruck is an ultra-durable all-electric truck covered in stainless steel, although it has faced safety and performance complaints from buyers.
Tesla has already announced, but not released, other products, including the heavy-duty semi-truck, the Cyberquad quad, and the Optimus robot.