“No steering wheels, no pedals:” Tesla unveils two new EVs from the future

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have unveiled the long promised Robotaxi prototype at its much ballyhooed “We, Robot” event in Hollywood, to showcase what it says will be the future direction of the world’s best-selling EV brand.

Musk took time out from his pro-Trump political campaigning to launch the new products at the Warner Bros studios in California.

His presentation, which started nearly an hour late – ostensibly due to a medical emergency in the crowd – lasted just 20 minutes and was short on detail, but long on hype, and Musk’s vision of a future world where “everyone will want” their own robot.

The first product to appear, with Musk inside, was the two-door Robotaxi with no steering wheel, and no pedals. The styling of this model seems to be inspired by the Cybertruck and Tesla’s Roadster sportscar, and Musk said it would likely be sold for less than $US30,000.

He said unsupervised fully autonomous trials would begin in California and Texas – pending regulatory approval – in 2025, using Model 3 and Model Y cars. Musk said that the Robotaxi would not likely be in production until 2026, or maybe 2027.

The first noticeable thing about the Robotaxi was the horizontal lightbar, which the Cybertruck inspires, and that theme is continued across various exterior panels. During the demonstration, Musk walked up to the Robotaxi and the doors opened outwards and upwards as he approached the two-door vehicle. 

The door opening mechanism showcased is different from the any of the other vehicles in Tesla’s current lineup.

There doesn’t appear to be a rear window, which is likely to be replaced with the camera as seen on the Cybertruck.

During the event, it was also showcased how the vehicle could be cleaned using robots, and would not require humans for daily upkeep. Or so Musk said. It will also be charged using inductive wireless charging technology that the company has been working on over the last couple of years.

On the interior front, as expected, its a very minimalistic design with a large screen that is common amongst many Tesla models.

The biggest surprise  was a Tesla-branded mass-transporter that Musk called the  “Robovan”. At the unveil, the vehicle is seen driving in autonomously and with over a dozen people exiting the vehicle.

According to Musk, this vehicle could be used for personal or commercial purposes including as a school bus, recreational vehicle or for last-mile deliveries.

Lastly, Tesla showcased the progress on its Optimus robot which was seen to be used to interact with the crowd at the We, Robot event as well as to “serve drinks” at the bar.

According to Musk, Optimus could be “everyone’s friend” in the future and will perform household tasks as well as being used in factories. Musk also hinted at its price which is likely to be less than the Robotaxi or $US30,000.

Tesla has long been invested in autonomy, and many analysts see it as the company’s main competitive advantage given the huge amounts of data it has gathered through its top selling Model 3 and Model Y electric cars.

But the presentation was short on details, and not everyone was convinced on its dependence on multiple cameras combined with neural networks to make routing decisions, least of all its competitors and those invested in radar and lidar technology.

“We do not believe in safety that relies on vision only,” said Kobi Marenko, CEO of Arbe. “In 2022 Elon Musk tweeted ‘only very high resolution radar is relevant.’

“This comment rings true with automotive experts since there is no radar on the market currently that is detailed enough to support AI. To support AI, perception radar with ultra-high resolution is necessary and should be used in combination with cameras to guarantee safety, redundancy, and facilitate current and future AI developments.”

Brad Rosen, the COO of Nodar, said the Tesla unveiling was a significant and positive step in automotive innovation.

“However, the safety of these vehicles is of concern,” he said. “Musk has been outspoken about his poor opinion of lidar – an expensive 3D sensor that many robotaxi companies rely on – arguing that if a human can drive using just vision, so can a vehicle.

“This opinion is shortsighted in that humans have a human brain, which processes input from our eyes and other senses, and enables us to analyze and react to familiar and new situations instantly. While Tesla’s FSD chip is very powerful, the human brain dwarfs its capabilities in terms of computing power.