Elon Musk has unveiled his “Cybercab” at a highly anticipated event for Tesla investors, but left out crucial details while predicting that the self-driving taxi would cost less than $30,000. Musk made a grand entrance at Warner Bros Studios in Los Angeles, riding in a Cybercab without steering wheels or pedals. He stated that production of the robotaxis could begin before 2027, pending regulatory approval. Additionally, he showcased a prototype for an autonomous vehicle called “the Robovan,” which can accommodate up to 20 people.
Since Tesla announced its “robotaxi day” on April 5th, its shares have risen by 45% in anticipation of this unveiling. Musk believes that Tesla’s shift towards autonomous driving and artificial intelligence could potentially increase the company’s valuation to $5 trillion, approximately seven times its current market value. However, pre-market trading on Friday saw shares fall by 5%.
Musk’s presentation started nearly an hour late and lasted less than 30 minutes after months of delay. The event concluded with Optimus autonomous humanoid robots dancing inside what appeared to be a giant fish tank. Musk expressed his belief that this product would be the largest ever created and mentioned that it would be available for less than $30,000 at scale. However, he did not provide specific information regarding the technology behind the robotaxis or how he plans to reduce their cost.
Investors were disappointed by Musk’s failure to unveil a more affordable electric vehicle known as the Model 2 priced at $25,000 – an attempt to revitalize Tesla’s aging product portfolio. Analyst Garrett Nelson from CFRA Research expressed disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding Tesla’s near-term product roadmap.
Musk has repeatedly missed his own targets for launching self-driving taxis; initially promising fully autonomous rides from Los Angeles to New York by late 2017 and later predicting one million robotaxis on roads by last year. During Thursday’s event, he mentioned that unsupervised rides using Tesla’s self-driving software may become available in Texas and California as early as next year.
Most analysts believe it will take several more years for Tesla to overcome regulatory hurdles and address concerns about safety related to their vision-based self-driving technology which relies on cameras and AI rather than lidar sensors used by competitors like Waymo and Baidu.
Jefferies analysts noted that Musk did not provide verifiable evidence of advancements in Tesla’s autonomous technology during the event; therefore making it difficult to assess feasibility based solely on vision-based approaches without precedent.
In recent years, Musk has attempted to shift investor focus away from viewing Tesla solely as an electric vehicle manufacturer towards recognizing its emphasis on autonomous driving and AI technologies.
