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Are Taxi Drivers Dead? Tesla Unveils Cybercab, Which Will Change the Future of Transport
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled the company’s newest and perhaps most innovative model yet: the Tesla Cybercab. It’s a driverless taxi that has no steering wheel and is designed to drive entirely autonomously. If it works, it could revolutionize transportation strategies around the world. If not, Tesla could sink.
The presentation was originally planned for August, but due to circumstances it was postponed. There are practically no technical details about the new product. Like other models of the company, Cybercab is an electric vehicle, but the engine characteristics and battery capacity are not disclosed. According to Musk, the company is researching inductive charging (wireless).
Cybercab replaced the unborn Tesla Model 2 (Redwood Project), which was considered the company's cheapest model and cost up to $ 25,000. Elon Musk insisted that the model be available "out of the box" in a version with autopilot, but the company initially persuaded him to leave the classic controls. But Tesla could not come up with a viable concept of an electric car for the mass market due to stiff competition from Chinese companies offering electric cars priced from $ 9,000. Therefore, in the spring of 2024, Elon Musk changed the concept in favor of exclusive models of unmanned taxis, the price of which should be around $ 30,000.
There are few details about the autopilot. The regular Tesla has an additional autopilot system, which in its 12th generation (FSD v12) provides impressive results. The car's behavior increasingly resembles the reaction of an experienced driver, rather than a timid driving school student. Unlike Chinese companies that equip self-driving car models with many sensors (lidar, sonar), Tesla uses only images from cameras. The autopilot reacts to the current situation, and not to pre-recorded tracks (Cybercab may use other technologies).
After the first crash, Tesla recertified Autopilot as a driver assistance system. This is necessary to ensure that the driver remains behind the wheel and pays attention to the road. But soon the company will allow fully autonomous driving, first in California and Texas, and then in other states.
The success of the Cybercab is critical to Tesla’s survival. The company is enjoying a successful period, and last year the Model Y became the most popular model in the world (not just among electric cars, but in general). The problem for Tesla is that, like its sister sedan, the Model 3, it relies on almost one successful model. Tesla accounts for more than 90% of the company’s revenue. The Cybertruck pickup truck was expensive and sold well in its segment, but the overall picture has not changed. The Model S and Model X cannot compete with the cheaper Model Y, so the company is waiting for a new best-seller.
If the self-driving taxi concept works, Tesla will have a huge market. Companies profit from denying taxi services, whose payments may exceed the cost of the car in a few years. The transition to autopilot will significantly reduce future delivery costs. However, Tesla is not a pioneer in this segment. For example, in San Francisco, Waymo taxis based on the Jaguar i-Pace are already operating fully self-driving taxis.
But last winter, we saw just how far the Tesla Model 3 can go in cold weather. Here's a story from Zeekr 001, who drives the car year-round: