Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised nearly a decade ago that his everyday electric vehicles were on the verge of driverless capabilities. So far, no dice, but yesterday in Austin, Texas, his company introduced the vehicle that might mark another step in that direction. Hello, Cybercab: - Tesla’s purpose-built robotaxi is a matte gold, steering-wheel-free, pedal-less two-seater with butterfly doors—a design that was initially unveiled two years ago.
- Musk said at the event that Cybercab’s cost “is probably going to be around 20 cents a mile. And the price, including taxes and everything else, probably ends up being 30 or 40 cents a mile. And you will be able to buy one.” The vehicle isn’t available for purchase yet.
Yesterday’s launch event signified the Cybercab’s official addition to Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, which otherwise consists of Model Ys. Growing that bunch of unsupervised (aka fully autonomous) vehicles is “key for the stock to outperform through year-end,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote ahead of the event. It’s also key for Tesla’s long-term futureIn its broader ambitions to refocus its business around self-driving cars and robotics, Tesla hopes to overtake Waymo as the king of the driverless hill. It’s fighting that battle at a steep incline: - Waymo’s ~4,000 driverless vehicles operate in 14 US cities, making it the largest fleet of self-driving cars in the country.
- Tesla’s robotaxi business, which operates in Florida and Texas (with Arizona and Nevada coming soon), “has been extraordinarily difficult to nail down,” per The Verge. Tallies vary, but one tracker pegs Tesla’s fleet of unsupervised cabs at ~200.
“Longer term, the software is the most important piece,” a senior Morningstar analyst wrote about Tesla ahead of the Cybercab launch. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving product relies on cameras, while Waymos use a costlier trio of lidar, radar, and cameras. Some Tesla engineers previously worried that without sensors, Tesla’s self-driving system could get thrown off by camera-obscuring weather. Regardless of Wall Street’s reaction to Cybercab, Tesla still has to win over the public. Its driver-assist systems have been linked to thousands of crashes and dozens of deaths. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating the EV-maker over potential automated driving defects, and said yesterday that it was “in contact with Tesla and is evaluating the situation” with Cybercab, as it’s hit the road in Austin without features the agency typically requires.—ML |
