For about a decade, Elon Musk has been talking about how your Tesla can be out there on the streets, hustling for you, making you money while you sleep, thanks to the tech magic of self-driving robotaxis. Back in 2019, Elon Musk confidently stated that by 2020, “for sure” there would be “over a million robotaxis on the road,” and he was basically right, except for the part about there being over million Tesla robotaxis on the road, because there currently are zero. That may finally be about to change, because Tesla is planning an event on October 10 to unveil the Robotaxi or Cybercab or Electro-Jitney or whatever they’re calling it, and it looks like someone got a picture of the heavily-disguised Tesla Robotaxi itself.
This event was originally planned for August 8, but had to be delayed, though it seems the same repeated-digit date managed to be retained (you know, 8/8 and 10/10). The event is expected to be held at Warner Bros. Discovery movie studio in Burbank, California, which helps to explain why Tesla-tech watchers have noticed a lot of Tesla data-collection and mapping of the area around the Warner Bros. studio:
So I guess recent Bloomberg news piece explains why Tesla started extensive data collection in "WB Studio" area 4 or so days ago.
This is in addition to other areas like Tesla Diner, various SF and Bay Area pieces and so on. pic.twitter.com/NO4Bprugak— green (@greentheonly) September 1, 2024
All of this helps to support the idea that this picture could be the Tesla Robotaxi prototype or test mule, at least because it seems to be in the right place:
???????????? Tesla Robotaxi/CyberCab spotted with heavy camouflage during testing at Warner Bros. studio! pic.twitter.com/nr89KKcItn
— Tesla Newswire (@TeslaNewswire) September 13, 2024
Of course, it’s very difficult to really assess this thing because it’s so heavily camouflaged; There are some peculiar and unexpected details here, like how those rear wheels seem to be larger than the front ones, not something I’d have expected on a robotaxi-like vehicle. That big box-like structure on the rear is almost certainly just a distraction, though a wagon or van-like body for something like a robotaxi is actually a good idea. Look at what the Zoox people are doing with their self-driving taxi prototypes, for example.
The consensus seems to be that the Tesla Robotaxi design will be a smaller car with what appears to be one row of seats, scissor-type doors, and a sloping roofline, based on pictures seen in Elon Musk, the biography written by Walter Isaacson, shown here below the alleged Tesla Cybercab mule:
The scale looks about right, suggesting that the Tesla Cybercab will be a two or three-seater at most, which feels like a strange choice for a taxi vehicle of any type, though not unheard of. The skirted rear wheels shown in the rendering are also at odds with the large rear wheels seen on the possible mule, too.
So, is this strange yellow thing actually the Cybercab? Is it a single-cab Tesla pickup with a nicely substantial front bumper and an absurdly high bed? Maybe! There are still a few weeks until October 10, so I guess we’ll have to wait to find out.
Will the Cybercab have any provision for human driving? Or will it be entirely Level 4 automated? So far, Tesla has never really demonstrated any extensive non-monitored self-driving for any appreciable distance, at least not publicly, so any demonstration of that sort of driving will be fascinating as well. The extensive mapping and data-gathering around the Warner Bros. studio suggests some sort of demonstration will happen, which is interesting considering that Musk has criticized the use of extensive HD mapping by companies like Waymo, calling them “a really bad idea.”
Waymo, though, for all their troubles, has demonstrated some degree of Level 4 automated driving; I’ll be curious to see what Tesla shows, both in their physical car and what sort of self-driving it’s actually capable of.
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Where do people sit? Is the exposed area where you put property? Wrong or bad design? I wouldn’t fall into this questionable claim sorry Jason.
I mean, it’s not a terrible idea. Take all of those unsold cyber trucks that are rotting away, cut off the back, spray paint over the rust, and blam, new product, with production line ready to go.
Why engineer twice when one platform does the trick?
This really looks like a next generation Johnnycab so I‘m guessing they’re actually shooting Total Recall part deux. It was set on Mars, so it plays neatly together with Elon’s Mars plans right?
I wonder if maybe it’s the lower cost Tesla that Elon said they are working on?
That was my guess, a 2 door/2 seat cab seems kinda dumb… Although I guess being kinda dumb doesn’t really remove it from the realm of possibility given the source.
It’s also just a test mule, the body doesn’t matter on those, can be hacked together out of anything, the Land Rover Freelander mules were Austin Montego panel vans
Well, since there’s no cab driver (theoretically) two doors and two seats would probably suffice, since that’s generally what’s available for passengers in a ‘regular’ cab (just the backseat).
So why wouldn’t this mule be built on an existing product? After all they’ve supposed to have been out there hustling up extra income for the Teslarati faithful for for or more years now. Why make a whole new taxi?
This will exist right alongside Trump’s infrastructure and healthcare plans.
Why would we need to hear about those? Would only matter if he was actually going to be president again
Yeah, what I suspect we’re looking at might be a sports coupe rather than a taxi.
There, I stuck my neck out saying it first, so remember to give me some cred if I’m right. But don’t forget to tease me if I’m wrong.
I wish that were true, but, if so, whose? Tesla is maybe sort of working on a new Roadster, which is actually a 2+2 coupe and not a roadster, but it’s a very low priority program and has very different proportions. It seems unlikely that any other automaker would be working on a small sports car in this day and age
Indeed I could be wildly wrong. However, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t see taxi there.
Staggered low-profile tires.
Too low of a beltline.
Huge rear flares.
Ridiculous side skirts.
A-pillar weirdness.
Front camo weirdness.
Hood weirdness.
Roof weirdness.
It’s clearly got two doors so it’s either a coupe (but could still be a taxi) or roadster.
Is that a steering wheel/binnacle I see?
On the other hand, I see no side mirrors, so that alone could indicate I am quite wrong.
Finally, if this is a taxi, space utilization is absolutely atrocious.
Oh, the Tesla Roadster second gen appears to have no mirrors either. I really think we’re looking at a roadster with some Model 3 lights on the front. And possibly a Model 3 windshield grafted on as well.
Man am I way far out on a limb here. This fall is probably going to hurt a lot. 🙂
Well the color is about right.
Hahaha!
Yeah, that’s what I thought, as well. That’s a heavily disguised roadster mule.
I have a JV between Tesla, Ford, and VW on my bingo card. Ford will take the truck and van market. While VW will build small cars. Tesla will provide engineering know how and self driving. Each company could highly benefit from each other, especially as competition against Chinese EV’s heats up.
I stand by the following: If a purpose-built taxi is not built with wheelchair access built-in, it should be scrapped and redesigned.
“if a car can only serve 99% of the population, that’s not enough, no point in even trying if your numbers are that low”
Disabled people are most likely to be unable to drive and most likely to be isolated because of this. If it’s a ground up design for people who either can’t drive or choose not to, design it in from the outset. It’s not like a private vehicle where you are going to prioritize different things for different buyers, and it’s specifically designed for this purpose.
The ADA exists for a reason.
I don’t want to be mean but I suspect there’s a very low possibility Elon/Tesla cares about anyone with disability issues because… Elon. This is coming from someone who’s worked on products to get ADA approval.
I have a Roadster 2.0 for anyone who thinks this will actually come to market. Just another ploy to raise Tesla stock.
Will this have Robert Picardo as the model for Johnny Cab “driver”?
I get why you would want to camouflage your latest and greatest thing. But if you are going to go camo, why yellow? So you’re not showing details of the car but begging for attention to see that you’re not giving details away?
I guess that sounds like something Musk would come up with.
A million Tesla RoboTaxis sounds like an extinction level event.
We all saw “Leave the World Behind,” right?
The windshield, the side glass, the roof line the A pillar, and the A pillar’s relationship to the front axle all look exactly like a VW new beetle to me.
Are you sure that WB is not filming a movie about a family of five living in a camper-sized new beetle? Maybe Tom Cruise running a mobile bordello ? Maybe Pikachu has joined the transformers? It’s a movie back lot for goodness sake.
Saybe it’s “Sideways to the more or less right now, but without the crazy people“
no robo taxi for your family of 4! kind of surprising from the guy with a breeder fetish.
He just figures the average person sees their kids as much as he sees his own.
They will do anything to not give us public transit.
The decision to fund transit or not seems separate from a company deciding to put a product on sale. It’s not as if the government is buying the taxis.
No, but it does pay for the roads. Or rather, we do.
Yes, and in exchange road users pay taxes and registration fees in order to drive on them.
Taxi companies need to follow additional regulations above and beyond normal car owners.
I’m not seeing the issue.
Except this is from a man who has said he did projects to try to stop funding to public transportation, this is another one of those projects.
I feel like it should be at least a roomy 5 seater. If it’s just a people mover it should move a decent number of people
Maybe, maybe not. Most Uber or other taxi rides carry one person, I would imagine.
It’s hard to judge how many seats in that. The drawing seems pretty clearly two, the mockup *might* be three.
Anyway, all small transport options, pods, taxis, whatever, should have a minimum of three seats. A group with an odd number of people using two smart transports forces someone to ride alone.
With three seats you never force someone to ride alone.
Counterpoint, families of 4.
Presumably they would ride 2 and 2, since you need 2 taxis anyways.
Families of 5?
3 people in taxi #1, 2 people in taxi #2.
There is no family size >1 such that anyone is forced to ride alone in the smallest number of 3 seat taxis that will fit them all.
Yup. Generalized you fill 3 seat taxi’s until you have 4 people left then split those 4 into 2 final cabs.
No one is forced to ride alone. You can still agree as a group to make Steve ride alone. Ugh Steve
LOL, where does it ennnnd?????
“We need a ride to the clown convention, when can you be here?”
“How many clowns do you have?”
Here we go….
Math.ceil(n/3)
Two couples and a “friend”
The number of fiery deaths caused by Cybercab accidents will be greatly reduced by limiting the number of passengers to two.
It’ll be smoke and mirrors to pump the stock until the next big announcement.
Will I ever get in a car without a driver?
Nope.
ever been on a train?
Most trains have a driver. And even if they don’t they’re on a track with a minimal number of variables to deal with.
Have you ever been to a Turkish prison?
Do you like movies about gladiators?
My dad says you don’t work hard enough on defense.
Eh, never say never.
I rode in a fully driverless Waymo in Arizona, and it was shockingly… normal. Sure, it was weird on the outside seeing all the lidar sensors spinning around, but after the first weird feeling of seeing nobody in the driver seat, the drive was totally normal. No different than an Uber.
I suspect too that the technology will continue to develop with more cars talking to each other, and perhaps external traffic control systems in particularly congested areas (like air traffic control, for example) helping distribute the sensor data so one car doesn’t have to handle everything on its own.
When you say “no different than an Uber”, do you mean it veered wildly across traffic at twice the speed limit?
More of the same old, same old here from the boy wonder.
Cybercab is a dumb name. This should be called the VaporCab.
Probably going to be called the Se3xycab, or something equally puerile.
Crappycab?
Who is gonna clean out that driverless cab after the last occupants ralphed on the seats/floor or performed acts that should be confined to their place of residence.
Steamingpileofcab
TaXXXi
Now you have me thinking: If you have sex in a Cybertruck, is it considered Cyber sex?
That would require a Cybertruck owner to convince someone to have sex with them, so we will never know the answer.
I’m going with new ev Beetle
ugh, I wish
cc: Volkswagen
bcc: Volkswagen
attn: Volkswagen
fwd: Volkswagen
re: Volkswagen
shout-into-the-void-of-Wolfsburg: Volkswagen
(Just do it with a usable interior and without the not-really-self-driving bits.)
As long as the EV motor is in the rear as God intended.
Praise Jeebus!
I have a Tesla with FSD and it is certainly not ready for prime time. Three days ago, I approached an intersection with stoplights inactive and had foldable stop signs. There were stop signs on both sides of the lane and my FSD Tesla would have driven straight thru them if I didn’t intervene. The system is amazing, but it’s not there yet.
*Stops legally at a red light or stop sign.* *Telsa Taxibot decides its time for your rapid frame readjustment.*