It’s Oct. 10, and Tesla has finally shown off its vision for a robotic taxi of the future, imaginatively called the Robotaxi. It kinda looks like a Volkswagen XL1 from Alibaba. Weird, but a neat concept for taking two people from one place to another place. However, what if you theoretically need to carry more than yourself and someone else? Well, this is the Tesla Robovan, and it’s something else.
Right off the bat, the Robovan looks like a fever dream, like a blend between an Apple mouse and a toaster and the character design of Robots, that animated film. Enclosed wheels, full-length strakes, a true monobox silhouette, surely there’s no way this could make production, right?
Well, at Tesla’s big robotaxi presentation on Thursday, that’s exactly what Elon Musk claimed. The long-term plan, allegedly, is that the Robovan will be there for sports teams, church excursions, mobile orgies, you name it. Alright, maybe the last one wasn’t alluded to, but come on. It’s theoretically a van without a driver. People will be attempt to procreate in there.
Tesla did also unveil a rendering of a robotic vacuum but something tells me that won’t be enough for certain situations. Wait, doesn’t the Boring Company sell flamethrowers?
Like the Cybercab, Tesla expects the Robovan to have no steering wheel, no pedals, no traditional controls of any sort. It begs the question: What would happen if it gets stuck? Presumably, in all of Tesla’s autonomous forecasts, there will be intervention from the cloud or something, but this thing’s still a stretch as far as timelines go, so who knows?
Hell, we don’t even have a rough guideline of when Tesla expects the Robovan to be roaming the streets of America, which is uncharacteristic considering the firm’s, um, optimistic timelines for future products. Has anyone seen the second-generation Tesla Roadster recently? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
There are still an unbelievable number of kinks to be ironed out in order for the Robovan to even be feasible for production. We’re talking regulatory approval, production ramping hell, feasibility of manufacturing, and even whether or not the vision-only approach to Level 4 autonomy will even work. Still, on form factor alone, I’m interested in seeing where this goes. America needs more weird vans, and this is definitely a weird van.
(Photo credits: Tesla)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
We’re Liveblogging The Tesla ‘We, Robot’ Event With The Cybercab And Probably Other Stuff So Join Us
-
Here’s Everything We Know So Far About Tesla’s Upcoming Cybercab Robotaxi
-
Some Geniuses Are Tuning Tesla Model 3s For Up To 150 Extra Horsepower
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
One of those things is not like the others! I suppose it depends on the sports team or church though…
Calm down, it’s a bus.
“The Tesla Robovan Looks Insane And People Are Definitely Gonna Bone In It”
So thanks to Tesla’s fondness for cameras on all the things I suppose we can look forward to TeslaOnlyFans.
By summoning or entering a Robotaxi or Robovan, passengers give up any and all rights to any and all content derived from their trip, whether audio, video, demographic and/or financial.
Art Deco styling on an airport terminal tram. I’ll pass. I am going to wait for a Chrysler version with a nice Rococo motif.
Bone in it unless your girlfriend has a headache and says there’s just no way
I concur on weird vans. Hell, we need more normal vans, too.
Anyway, I hope that headline wins you a Pulitzer.