Tesla will begin mass production of the Cybercab, a two-door electric vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals, in 2026 and the great Elon Musk has said that it will cost less than $ 30,000.

From the crowd to the crowd. A few days after its debut at a political rally with Donald Trump, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, presented the Cybercab car with all the honors. Cybercab is an electric car with a futuristic design, with two doors that open like wings, without a steering wheel or pedals; in other words, a robotaxi with which Tesla wants to revolutionize autonomous driving with the help of artificial intelligence. The demonstration proved little: the prototype is only capable of moving without a driver in a short closed circuit. We also discovered that Elon Musk has taught his robots to dance - or something similar.

Musk showed off new models and a spectacular limousine bus, the Robovan. The Tesla boss assured that the company will start producing Cybercabs in 2026 - a period subject to regulatory approvals - and that their cost will be less than $30,000 (around €27,500 at the current exchange rate), although if it doesn't happen in the end, it wouldn't be the first time the company has broken a promise in this regard. The Robotaxi launch event itself was delayed by several months after he ordered changes to the prototype. Musk had already formulated his new prediction in a somewhat complicated way: "Probably, well, I'm not usually very optimistic about deadlines, but in 2026. Before 2027, let me put it this way." The Cybercabs will cost 20 cents per kilometer to operate. "The cost of autonomous transportation will be so low that it can be considered individualized collective transportation," he said. Robotaxis will use inductive chargers and will not require a power outlet. They will also rely solely on cameras and artificial intelligence, without the need for other hardware used by robotaxis.

However, there was a lack of information on production plans, the cost of the models, expected profitability and other details expected by investors and analysts, who believe that Tesla is betting a large part of its value on the success of this product or, more generally, on driverless cars. They also did not say how fully autonomous driving will be achieved. It was a conceptual presentation.

Tesla is at risk of experiencing its first ever drop in deliveries this year, as purchase incentives have not attracted enough customers to its electric vehicle range. Price cuts have also squeezed profit margins. The company hopes to launch a new model next year to revive demand.

Presentation

The presentation event, called 'We, Robot', was held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, outside Los Angeles, California, and was staged like a movie. The event began with a significant delay, due to a medical emergency involving one of the attendees, Musk explained. More than three million people were following along on social media at the same time at times.

Several of the company's Optimus robots served as hosts or attractions. Some danced mechanically on a glass platform to music, while others were in the guest area. Cameras repeatedly focused on someone standing at the bar as if they were serving drinks, but beyond greeting and moving around in a somewhat nonsensical manner, they were not seen serving drinks. It's a product that Musk wants to make a billion dollars a year, but it's clear that there's a long way to go.

The star of the night, however, was the Cybercab. Musk arrived on a motorcycle and extolled the virtues of driverless cars. “Most of the time cars don’t do anything, but if they’re autonomous they can be used five times more, maybe 10 times more,” he said. He compared the days when cars had drivers to the days when elevators had attendants.

“The autonomous future is already here. We have 50 fully autonomous cars here tonight. You’ll see the Model Y and the Cybercab. All driverless. You can get in them. They don’t have a steering wheel or pedals, so I hope they do well,” he joked, before going on to say that autonomous cars will be 10 times safer than human-driven cars. Tesla has had safety issues with the self-driving features of its current models.

The entrepreneur has a vision where autonomous cars are a mix of Uber and Airbnb, with driverless cars acting as taxis and vehicle owners adding them to their fleet when they’re not needed. Musk’s plan is to operate a fleet of Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. Autonomous owners of a vehicle will also have the opportunity to earn money on the app by offering their vehicles, as Tesla will take a cut of the revenue.

The other prototype that was presented, the Robovan, has space for 20 people and can be adapted for commercial or personal use, as a school or tourist bus or even as a cargo vehicle, according to the company.