Tesla Self-Driving Taxi: What to Expect From Cybercab Announcement

The countdown is well and truly on for the automotive world’s most hotly anticipated new vehicle of 2024.

On Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. PT in Warner Bros’ Discovery Studio in Burbank, California, Tesla will present its long-awaited self-driving taxi, the so-called Cybercab.

Since the unveiling was announced in April by CEO Elon Musk, speculation has been feverish about what might be in store.

Surprisingly, even though the reveal was pushed back to October from its original August date, there is still little concrete known about what Musk might show. Indeed in a business as slickly choreographed and PR savvy as the auto industry, it’s most unusual for an event such as this to be shrouded in quite so much mystery.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive as D-Day approaches. So what do we know for sure about what Tesla has planned?

Well, to start, the Cybercab name seems set in stone. Musk confirmed as much on an investors call earlier this year,  when he also revealed that the autonomous vehicle would be “purpose built” – generally understood to mean lacking conventional driving controls, such as a steering wheel or pedals. He also suggested it would be built using a new “unboxed” manufacturing strategy, which is not possible within Tesla’s existing infrastructure.

Related:Tesla Self-Driving Taxi Delayed Until October

The delay, Musk confirmed on X, was to facilitate an “important design change to the front” while he also stated the additional time would allow the automaker to show off “other things.”

We also know that Tesla has been working on a ride-hailing app, which presumably would be used by customers to order the new AV. 

Beyond that though, very little is clear, although spy shots of mysterious vehicles testing on roads in California and images of a concept from 2023 of a Cybertruck-inspired two-seater in a Musk biography have sent internet sleuths into a frenzy.

Studying the CEO’s comments from the past doesn’t really provide much clarity either. Previously he has spelled out a vision of conventional Tesla models with Full Self Driving acting as autonomous cabs that can generate income for owners, but with the tech under scrutiny by regulators and rated at only Level 2 partial automation by the Society of Automotive Engineers – i.e. nowhere near the Level 4 of Waymo, which is now delivering 100,000 driverless rides a week across the US – that plan seems unlikely.

It would also be somewhat underwhelming, given that perennial showman Musk has billed the event as “one for the history books” and called it We Robot, suggesting there may be elements of AI wizardry that we have not yet seen from the brand.

Related:Tesla Teases Ride-Hailing Self Driving Taxi; Promises Cheaper Models

So what can we expect? Well, the best guess – and a very vague one at that – is that we will indeed see a new vehicle, most probably without those conventional driving controls, and a limited demonstration of its ability given the studio setting. 

Beyond its design, much interest is likely to focus on the tech that provides the automation – Musk is an advocate of end-to-end AI that essentially “trains” cars using data to drive like humans, but famously eschews the lidar sensors that are a staple of the AVs run by the likes of Waymo and Cruise. An explanation of how the vehicle will work should be forthcoming.

There is also likely to be mention of how a wider Tesla ride-hailing network might function, although given it has taken Waymo more than a decade to get to the stage it is at now, don’t expect Musk to provide much detail here.

Amid all the speculation, one certainty is that the wider industry and potential rivals will be watching with interest – Uber’s recent spate of AV deals and Waymo’s tie-up with Hyundai to develop IONIQ 5 robotaxis might be interpreted as “getting their retaliation in early”. 

And, of course, observers would probably do well to take any timelines with a pinch of salt – given Musk’s history of big promises and missed deadlines.