LOS ANGELES, OCT 11 – Elon Musk yesterday unveiled what he says is a self-driving robotaxi, predicting it will be available by 2027, about a decade after he first promised an autonomous vehicle.
The Tesla CEO said the fully electric car, which has no steering wheel or pedals, would cost less than US$30,000, would be charged wirelessly with inductive technology and would be ’10 to 20 times safer’ than a human-driven car.
“You can imagine the car in the autonomous world as if it were a little lounge,” he told the crowd at the Warner Brothers Studio lot near Los Angeles.
“You just sit in a cozy little lounge, and you can do whatever you want while you’re in this cozy lounge, and when you get out, you’ll arrive at your destination.”
Not many details were given about the vehicle, which has gullwing doors reminiscent of the famous Delorean in the movie Back to the Future.
He said the company expects to begin ‘fully autonomous, unsupervised’ driving in Texas and California next year with existing models, and then move on to production of what he calls ‘cybercabs’.
“I tend to be a little optimistic with the time frame, but in 2026, before 2027,” he explained about when the vehicle will be available.
Musk also introduced a large passenger vehicle that he geared ‘Robovan’.
The vehicle, which looks like a large moving toaster, has no steering wheel, pedals or driver.
It can hold up to 20 passengers or can be modified to carry goods, Musk said. – AFP
