Tesla yesterday presented its long-awaited and long-promised robotaxi, henceforth to be known as the Cybercab.

　　Those in attendance at the presentation on the Warner Bros studio grounds in Burbank, California got a bonus as well: the unveiling of the Robovan van, which follows the same philosophy.

　　Neither of the self-driving vehicle concepts has any steering wheel or pedals. Tesla boss Elon Musk stated that both models are destined for production and that no changes are planned in their design. What we see is what well get.

　　Coming soon, and at an affordable price?

　　It remains to be seen how much time might elapse before we get what we get. Historically, lets just say Tesla tends to overpromise on its timelines. Musk gave few details, but he did say the Cybercab should go into production in 2026, and that its price point would be under $30,000 USD.

　　Thats an attractive-sounding price for sure, but again, you have to be careful with prices when it comes to Elon Musk, as we saw with the Cybertruck.

　　For fleets... and the public

　　The Cybercab is of course aimed at fleets and businesses, but it will also be offered to private individuals.

　　Tesla also shared a video showing the models in full autonomous charging operation thanks to induction. We even see their interiors being cleaned, autonomously by a station designed for the task.

　　Musk declared that the technology developed for the robotaxi could be transferred to Optimus, Teslas future humanoid assistance robot. Optimus prototypes were present at the event, serving drinks to attendees.

　　A Tesla Uber

　　Tesla has in the past promised that owners of the brands vehicles will eventually be able to hire out their model as a robotaxi, via a service similar to Uber, but called Tesla Network. Owners will be able to do this outside the service, for example to lend their vehicle to friends, but if they want to get a financial gain, it will have to be via Teslas network. The company will, of course, take a share of the revenues generated. Figures of 25-30 percent were put forward at the time.

　　All this to say that the company still has its ambitions firmly in mind.

　　The perils of autonomous driving

　　Of course, the big question is the reliability of the semi-autonomous driving system. While experts agree that Teslas is the most comprehensive system in the industry, its not perfect. It is, for the moment, only classified as a Level 2 system, which requires a drivers constant attention. Level 3 is where a vehicle can operate unsupervised. At present, only Mercedes-Benzs Drive Pilot system is classified as such, when it comes to private vehicles.

　　Musk hopes that by next year, Level 3 will be possible on his vehicles, initially in Texas and California.

　　Level 4 robotaxi services currently exist, such as Waymo, but were talking about models that have to operate within a well-defined area. The ultimate goal is level 5, where the machine replaces the human.

　　Tesla Cybercab, three-quarters rear | Photo: Tesla

　　Tesla Cybercab, from above | Photo: Tesla

　　Tesla Cybercab, from above, doors open | Photo: Tesla

　　Tesla Cybercab, in profile, doors open | Photo: Tesla