• Tesla hosted its We, Robot event yesterday where it showcased the new Cybercab, Robovan, and Optimus robots.
• Elon Musk is aiming to out the Cybercab into production in 2026, but this may only happening 2027.
• The self-driving Cybercab is said to be safer than traditional public transport, and is estimated to cost $0.20 per mile to operate.

Yesterday, or in the early hours of this morning if you live in South Africa, Elon Musk hosted the Tesla We, Robot event where the company showcased three products, two of which are slated to become fully fledged offerings to the public.

The star of the show was Tesla’s robotaxi, or the Cybercab as it has now been christened.

During the presentation, Musk and co. detailed how Tesla’s vision of the future will be an autonomous one. To that end, along with the Cybercab, which is a self-driving passenger car concept for now, the company also revealed the Robovan and offered a closer look at its Optimus robots.

The former is designed to be an autonomous vehicle for carrying multiple passengers, and can be likened to the shuttles operating on many business campuses, although it is unclear if the Robovan will ever move out of the concept stage.

The latter is also still in development, according to Musk, but as he puts it, would be utilised in handling tasks that may be too dangerous or laborious for human beings. “This is a very big deal… It’ll save lives, a lot of lives, and prevent injuries,” he explained. The Optimus robot will also reportedly cost in the region of $20 000 to $30 000, so it’s unclear which person or business would actually want to buy one.

Shifting back to the Cybercab, it is unclear what kind of performance it can muster at this stage, so its driving range, top speed, and other measurable are yet to be shared. The only figure that Musk shared was the cost to operate, which is estimated at $0.20 per mile compared to a normal public transit bus at $1 per mile, although we’re unsure where the Tesla CEO pulled those numbers.

Musk also noted that the Cybercab would be 10 to 20 times safer than regular public transport, but again, no evidence to back up such claims were shared.

What Tesla did detail, however, is that the Cybercab would be powered by a Full Self-Driving (FSD) system in terms of handling navigation, with no reliance on high-definition maps present, according to the electric carmaker.

Precisely how the entire Cybercab ecosystem will operate if the concept ever comes to fruition is also a little unclear at this stage, with the Level 2 autonomous vehicle environment that Tesla has been working towards still having several issues.

Here, The Verge correctly points to Tesla’s history on road fatalities, with the most recent being a motorcyclist who was killed by a Tesla vehicle allegedly operating with FSD in place. Whether the US government or regulators would allow a fully self-driving car that would have no one behind the wheel to supervise on the roads, even in a small test campus or town, is difficult to discern right now.

While the Cybercab is indeed an interesting concept, there are still many unanswered questions that Tesla are yet to address. For now, Musk is hoping to put the Cybercab into production in 2026, but this may even be pushed back to 2027, with it still to be determined whether there will be any companies or government entities wanting to adopt robotaxis.

With the Cybercab now revealed to the world, whether it will become a fully fledged autonomous EV is up in the air. That said, we much prefer Musk when he’s trying to push automotive boundaries with Tesla than his more recent antics in politics and social media.

You can check out the full live stream We, Robot event in the YouTube video embedded below. The presentation gets underway from the 52:30 mark.