Elon Musk unveils 'Cybercab' at Tesla robotaxi event

Tesla brag Elon Musk unveiled the firm's long-awaited robotaxi, the Cybercab, astatine the Warner Bros Studios successful Burbank, California connected Thursday evening.

The futuristic-looking conveyance featuring 2 wing-like doors and nary pedals oregon steering instrumentality deposited Mr Musk successful beforehand of an assemblage anxious to perceive details astir a task helium considers cardinal to Tesla's adjacent chapter.

At the event, billed arsenic "We, Robot," the multi-billionaire reiterated his presumption that afloat self-driving vehicles volition beryllium safer than those operated by humans and tin adjacent gain their owners money, done being rented retired for rides.

But his projection that accumulation connected the Cybercab volition statesman immoderate clip "before 2027" raised questions astir whether Mr Musk volition erstwhile again stroke past his ain deadlines to present a afloat self-driving conveyance that tin vie with rivals similar Alphabet-owned Waymo.

"I thin to beryllium optimistic with clip frames," helium quipped during the event, portion discussing the Cybercab, which helium said would outgo little than $30,000 (£23,000).

Mr Musk besides said helium expected to spot "fully autonomous unsupervised" exertion disposable successful Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y successful Texas and California adjacent twelvemonth "with support wherever ever regulators o.k. it."

But that support is acold from guaranteed.

"It is simply a large chunk of metallic driving connected roads astatine precocious speeds, truthful information concerns are big," said Samitha Samaranayake, an subordinate prof successful engineering astatine Cornell University.

Tesla's self-driving ambitions trust connected cameras that are cheaper than radar and Lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors that are the exertion backbone of galore competitors' vehicles.

By teaching its cars to drive, Tesla plans to usage artificial quality (AI) trained by the earthy information it collects from its millions of vehicles.

But the probe assemblage "is not sold connected whether the Tesla benignant of doing things tin springiness the information guarantees that we would like," Mr Samaranayake said.

The cybercab task has undergone delays, having been due for merchandise successful August.

This summer, in a station connected X , formerly Twitter, Mr Musk said the hold was owed to plan changes helium felt were important.

Meanwhile, competing robotaxis are already operating connected immoderate US roads.

• How robotaxis are dividing San Francisco
• Robotaxi tech improves but tin they marque money?

Tesla besides seems poised to station its archetypal ever diminution successful yearly income arsenic competitors heap into the electrical conveyance market, adjacent arsenic income person softened.

Despite that dour backdrop, Tuesday's lawsuit was dense connected spectacle, implicit with dancing robots serving drinks to attendees.

Mr Musk besides unveiled different prototype for a "Robovan" which tin ferry up to 20 passengers astir astatine a time.

The sleek shuttle "could beryllium a mode of proscription implicit the coming years that Tesla leverages," said Wedbush Securities managing manager Dan Ives who attended the lawsuit successful person.

Another expert said the lawsuit felt similar a measurement backmost into representation lane portion besides signalling the way ahead.

"Musk did a fantastic occupation of coating an perfect aboriginal for proscription that promises to some escaped up our clip and summation safety," said Jessica Caldwell, caput of insights astatine Edmunds.

But the affirmative rotation didn't obscure the ambition of the timelines Musk shared Tuesday night.

"Many questions stay astir however this volition beryllium achieved from a applicable standpoint," Caldwell added.

The deployment of robotaxis has encountered setbacks, with driverless cars operated by General Motors subsidiary Cruise being suspended successful San Francisco aft a pedestrian was knocked down.

But the assemblage continues to expand. Waymo said successful aboriginal October it would adhd the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to its robotaxi fleet aft the vehicles acquisition on-road investigating with the company's technology.

Ride-hailing elephantine Uber besides wants to adhd much autonomous vehicles to its fleet to grow connected its transportation and ridesharing options for customers.

It announced a multi-year confederation with driverless car developer Cruise successful August.

Chinese tech institution Baidu is besides reportedly looking to grow its robotaxi division, Apollo Go, beyond China - wherever the vehicles are progressive successful respective cities.