It has two doors that open like wings, a satin body, a compact design; it doesn’t have steering wheel nor pedals: it is thedriverless car that the CEO of TeslaElon Musk, presented in an event promised for two years and finally organized in the evening in Los Angeles (5 in the morning in Italy).
Musk arrived on stage aboard one of the 50s robotaxi who ran around among the sets and sound stages of Warner Bros. Studios of Burbank, north of the Californian metropolis. The entrepreneur stated that production will begin in 2026 and that the vehicles will cost less than $30,000. The two models Ys and Cybercab will form a fleet of Taxi owned by Tesla, which passengers will be able to call via aappinitially in California and Texas. They can then be purchased by private individuals, who will be able to make their car work while they are not using it, renting it to those who call for a ride.
Extra income thanks to Robotaxi
An extra profit that serves to amortize the costs: «Many complain about the high prices, including installments, insurance, parking, maintenance. But think about it: how many hours do you use the car in a week? On average 10 hours, out of a total of 168. The rest of the time, the cars do nothing. Those autonomouson the other hand, can be used five to ten times more. The same car takes on a value five or ten times higher,” Musk explained.
According to him, the fully robot-driven car is also ten times safer than a normal one: «He doesn’t get tired, he doesn’t look at his cell phone. Then it was trained with data from more than a million machines: it is prepared for situations you can’t even dream of.”
The glorious future of autonomous mobility
The Robotaxis it is Tesla’s bet for the future. Not the “apocalyptic” one often predicted by Hollywood, but a glorious, happy future. «Autonomy gives you back your time. You no longer have to drive to get around. Your car will become a comfortable lounge, in which you can sleep, work, have a drink: live.”
Musk, not too well liked a Hollywood for attacks on minorities and for proud support of Donald Trumpinvited investors, stock analysts, journalists and Tesla fans to the Burbank Studios, who interrupted his off-the-cuff speech with several «Elon, we love you!».
An event between innovation and entertainment
Also present in the audience was the president of Stellantis, John Elkannalong with Elon’s younger brother, Kimbal. The event, with a big screen and outdoor disco strobe lights, was titled “We, Robot”, a reference to the father of science fiction Isaac Asimov. It was streamed on X (formerly Twitter), which Musk owns, and on YouTube.