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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