Skip to main content

Elon Musk eyes 2024 for Tesla robotaxi sans steering wheel, pedals

Tesla is aiming to mass produce a robotaxi by 2024, CEO Elon Musk revealed during an earnings call with investors on Wednesday as the company reported better-than-expected quarterly figures.

The dedicated robotaxi will feature a “futuristic” design and come without a steering wheel or pedals, Musk said, adding that the vehicle, which would build on the automaker’s current self-driving technology, could be “a massive driver of Tesla’s growth.”

Recommended Videos

Aware that the steep price tag of Tesla cars puts them out of reach of many folks, Musk suggested a robotaxi service could be launched that offered “the lowest cost-per-mile of transport that they’ve ever experienced.”

Warming to his theme, he added that according to the company’s projections, “it would appear that a robotaxi ride will cost less than a bus ticket, a subsidized bus ticket, or a subsidized subway ticket.”

Musk has spoken of his interest in building a robotaxi before, but this was his clearest statement yet on such a project.

However, the CEO’s 2024 target date is characteristically ambitious and, like many of his forecasts, could well slip. After all, it gives Tesla only two years to test and mass produce the autonomous vehicle. Getting the green light from state regulators will also be a big challenge to launching a full-fledged robotaxi service in a timely manner.

Still, Musk’s statement offers an idea of where he is considering taking Tesla in the coming years, and is a shot across the bow of other big players eyeing robotaxi services, among them Alphabet-owned Waymo and GM-owned Cruise.

Waymo, a leader in autonomous driving technology, has been testing robotaxi services in several states since 2018, though its cars come with manual controls and often includes a safety driver. But it recently partnered with Chinese automaker Geely to build an all-electric, self-driving minivan that comes without a steering wheel and pedals. And in early 2020, Cruise unveiled a prototype vehicle called Origin that also ditched manual controls.

Responding to a follow-up question about the plan to build a robotaxi for ridesharing services, Musk offered few details, but did say that Tesla could hold an event some time next year to reveal more about the project.

The news of Tesla’s growing interest in ridesharing services using autonomous cars came on the same day the automaker reported $18.8 billion in revenue for the three-month period ending March 31, marking an increase of 81% over the same period a year earlier. It also reported a record quarterly profit of $3.3 billion, up from $438 million a year ago, and delivered a record 310,048 vehicles during the quarter.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Tesla and Elon Musk sued over use of AI image at Cybercab event
tesla and spacex CEO elon musk stylized image

Tesla’s recent We, Robot presentation has run into trouble, with one of the production companies behind Blade Runner 2049 suing Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, for alleged copyright infringement.

Tesla used the glitzy October 10 event to unveil its Cybercab and Robovan, and also to showcase the latest version of its Optimus humanoid robot.

Read more
Tesla’s Elon Musk unveils the Cybercab robotaxi — and also the Robovan
Tesla's robotaxi.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has just taken the wraps off a prototype of the automaker’s long-awaited robotaxi.

Tesla’s CEO performed the unveiling at a special event at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California, on Thursday night after being driven to the stage by the new autonomous vehicle. The "Cybercab," as Musk is calling it, sports a futuristic look and comes with butterfly doors that open upwards. The electric vehicle has ditched the steering wheel and pedals, and uses inductive charging instead of a plug. You can see the driverless Cybercab in action in the video below:

Read more
Waymo’s Hyundai robotaxi deal may steal the show from Tesla
A Hyundai Ioniq 5 is equipped as a robotaxi.

Just days ahead of Tesla’s much anticipated robotaxi event on Thursday, Hyundai unveiled a partnership with Waymo that will add Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 to the fleet of the robotaxi operator.In the first phase of the partnership, Waymo will integrate its sixth-generation fully autonomous technology, called the Waymo Driver, into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which will be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.On-road testing with Waymo-enabled Ioniq 5s is due to start in late 2025 and become available to riders of the Waymo One robotaxi service the following year.Alphabet-owned Waymo currently operates the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., with a fleet of about 700 self-driving vehicles already on the road in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service is also being tested in Austin, Texas.Last year, General Motors’ competing robotaxi service Cruise had to stop operations after one of its vehicles struck a pedestrian in San Francisco. Cruise’s GM vehicles are nonetheless expected to resume operations next year through a partnership with Uber.Driverless vehicles have stumbled on two main obstacles on the road to commercialization: The complexity of the technology and tight safety regulations.For now, Waymo’s existing footprint gives it a marked advantage over its competitors. Its sixth-generation technology is said to handle a wider array of weather conditions with fewer on-board cameras and sensors. In their joint statement, Waymo and Hyundai emphasized the proven safety of both the Waymo technology and the Ioniq 5. Waymo’s technology relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar and lidar (a laser-light radar). It's an approach that might be very costly but has met the approval of safety regulators. All this adds pressure on Tesla to deliver the goods with the launch of its robotaxi -- expected to be called the Cybercab.Tesla’s ambition has been to eventually provide full driverless capacity directly to consumers. Tesla owners can already buy software called Full Self-Driving (FSD) that operates like an advanced driver assistance system and requires constant driver supervision.Tesla’s FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.The technology, however, has not yet convinced all current and former traffic safety officials.

Read more