Tesla is preparing for the production of Robotaxi without steering wheels or pedals which is planned to be launched in 2024. Tesla’s plan is considered ambitious considering that there are no regulations that regulate this, at least in the United States.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that this vehicle will have no physical control for the driver. Meaning its rollout hinges on the company getting the job done on full self-driving within the next two years.
“Robotaxi will be a very powerful product. Vehicles will be highly optimized to be autonomous,” said Elon Musk
Musk said the robotaxi would have a futuristic design. One can assume that means more Cybertrucks than Model S.
For more details, Musk keeps it tight except for a few essentials. He said Tesla’s robotaxi goal was to bring mobility costs 5 to 10 times lower per mile.
“There are a number of other innovations around that I find quite interesting. But they are fundamentally optimized. For example, trying to consider the cost per mile or per kilometer,” Musk said.
Musk also claims that the robotaxi’s mobility costs will be cheaper than subsidized bus or subway tickets. This may hint at the business model the company is planning for its upcoming robotaxi.
Previously, Tesla mentioned it was building a $25,000 fully autonomous vehicle that may or may not have a steering wheel. However, it is not yet clear if this is the same vehicle.
See also: Pony.ai just announced its sixth-generation autonomous driving system
Tesla’s idea of creating a vehicle without a steering wheel is no secret, especially since Musk previously conveyed his dream about robotaxis. Additionally, Musk expects Tesla’s vehicles to eventually become unmanaged, though that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Tesla’s plans to bring it to market by 2024 feel a bit ambitious given that no wide-scale legislation covering vehicles like this is offered to consumers, at least in the United States. Maybe that’s why there is no talk about the customers that robotaxi is aiming for.
“I think there’s going to be a transition period where people can take over from robotaxi but once regulators get comfortable with our vehicles that don’t have a steering wheel, we make that happen,” Musk said in 2019.
