Elon Musk has announced plans to introduce a Tesla Robotaxi by 2024. The newly revealed vehicle will aim to take would-be passengers without the need for a driver. However, unlike current auto-taxis, the vehicle won’t have a steering wheel or pedals, making some nervous about the project.
Musk shared the news about his frightening Robotaxi during Tesla’s Q1 earnings call this past Wednesday. Despite dropping news of the worrisome vehicle, Musk revealed that more details on the invention will be revealed in a future event.
What is the Tesla Robotaxi?
During the Q1 earnings call, the Tesla CEO stated that this Robotaxi won’t have a steering wheel or brake pads like rival cars. Musk claims that this is because the vehicle will be "highly optimized for autonomy." On the other hand, how exactly that’s the case has yet to be revealed.
There was some clarification from Musk as to how this vehicle will operate but it’s still pretty vague for most people. However, since the CEO did tease a possible event/show for the Tesla Robotaxi, we could find out more then.
"It's fundamentally optimized for trying to achieve the lowest fully considered cost per mile, cost per kilometer, accounting everything. I think that that really will be a massive driver of Tesla's growth."
Elon Musk
Judging from this announcement and the Cybertruck, it’s clear that Elon Musk is trying to get people ready for a cybernetic future. With Tesla's robotics branch starting up with Tesla Bot, Musk is hoping to be able to profit heavily from this sci-fi-esque era.
Read More: Tesla Bot will be far more successful than electric vehicles, claims Musk
Not an original idea
Now, the thought of an AI-driven vehicle driving people to work could be a comfortable and nice experience. On the other hand, accidents can happen and it would be nice to have a steering wheel and brake pedals in case anything goes wrong.
Of course, a Tesla Robotaxi isn't a completely original idea. Robotaxis are already a frequent occurrence in China, and Cruise auto-taxis are already starting to make the rounds in America. In fact, just recently one Cruise vehicle got pulled over by the police, stunning officers.
In the meantime, Uber is still around and features vehicles that have steering wheels and brake pedals. They’re also driven by humans! What a concept that is, maybe Elon should invest in that instead.