Tesla Robotaxi unveiling event was a couple of days ago, and it might be the weirdest tech event I’ve ever been to. I explored the insane-looking Robovan, and I talked to the Optimus robot, and then I left feeling kind of confused. It was a weird event. So here are the three main big reasons why.
A First Look at the Robo Cab
Design Features of the Robo Cab
So first of all, the Robo Cab—this was the main thing that we knew we were going to see, this full unveiling of a fully self-driving Tesla. And we saw it, and it looked like this: very, very much like a mini Cybertruck. You’ve got the light bar on the front, the light bar on the back, and the complete lack of rear visibility. Then, of course, you can see it’s a two-door, two-seater passenger car.
People were wondering what a full self-driving Robo Cab or Cyber Taxi, whatever we’re calling it, would actually look like, whether it’d look dramatically different from a normal car like a Model 3 or even a Waymo. And there are some things that are significantly different about this thing they rolled out. I mean, on the outside, it’s light gold. Every single one is this silvery gold color, although there was never any mention of actual materials.
It’s a pretty small footprint. You can see there’s no exterior door handles or mirrors or anything like that. And then, since they don’t need any steering wheel or pedals, they can sort of push the seating position way back into this more loungey seating position, kind of near the middle of the car. There’s a center armrest and a massive 30-inch touchscreen in the center.
And yes, the doors go up, as if Tesla hasn’t learned from their lessons with the Model X. They’re making another crazy set of doors, which, honestly, is definitely a hit visually. It’s a striking feature of this car, alongside the wheels, which at first just look like these huge gold discs. But then, when you take a closer look, they’re actually just normal 18-inch low-rolling-resistance continental tires. But they’ve painted half of the sidewall gold to match the caps in the middle. So it makes it look like a super-thin, low-profile tire with a huge wheel, but it’s not; it’s just paint.
Riding in the Robo Cab
After waiting in line for a bit, I got to ride in this thing for a few minutes. So I got in, the screen told me to buckle my seatbelt, and once I did, the door automatically closed—pretty smart. Then I just selected the destination, which was on this screen along this route, which I assume was pre-mapped. And then it just started rolling, just started going.
Now, I’ve been in a self-driving Tesla before, but this one is just a little bit more nervy since there are people everywhere and no steering wheel in front of me. But once you get over the eeriness of basically being trapped in this driverless car with no manual override, I started looking around and noticing a few other things. You sit pretty low to the road, similar to a Model 3, but with more legroom since the seating position’s further back. And then, there are even fewer physical controls than ever before in this car.
Key Announcements About the Robo Cab
Autonomous, Self-Driving Capability
There were shockingly few details about the actual car explained at this event other than basically the three main pillars, which will be in all the headlines, which are: number one, that it will be fully unsupervised, self-driving capable.
Affordable Price Goal: Under $25,000
Tesla also claimed the Robo Cab would be affordable, with a price tag under $25,000.
Inductive Wireless Charging Technology
Finally, it would charge by inductive wireless charging, where it pulls up over a charging pad on the ground and charges that way. Not something we’ve seen shipping in very many cars, especially not ones with large batteries, but that was it. No other numbers, no other specs.
Questions and Insights from Tesla Engineers
Absence of Steering Wheel and Pedals
I did, at the event, walk around after the announcement and bump into some Tesla engineers and people who had been working on these things. And so, I just ended up kind of grilling them. My first question was, “Alright, let’s say I see an accident coming or there’s something happening on the road in front of me, and the car isn’t reacting in time—is there a manual override?” And the answer I got was, sure, there will be some sort of minimal onscreen controls available, but the goal is that you never have to override.
Precision in Wireless Charging
Even with the wireless charger, I wondered how precise the alignment would need to be to avoid power loss. The engineers explained it’s designed for maximum precision, as Tesla aims for full autonomy and minimal human intervention.
Efficiency and Range Goals
Aiming for Maximum Efficiency
I’m told there are no plans for a front trunk. There’s just the rear trunk that they showed in this presentation. And there’s no planned range or a stated battery size. But what they did say is they’re simply aiming for this vehicle to be as efficient as possible—that’s their main goal. Between the aerodynamics and the low rolling resistance tires, they think they can aim for about 6.5 miles per kilowatt hour.
Challenges and Concerns About Production
Elon Musk’s Timeline and Price Promises
I think the biggest red flag to me is the timeline stuff that—I mean, this is notorious Elon stuff. He gets on stage and says, “We’re gonna have this vehicle out for $25,000 before 2026.” No, they’re not. There’s just no way that they’re actually gonna be able to do that.
Tesla’s History of Promises vs. Reality
Tesla promised a $35,000 Model 3, and years later, I think they briefly actually shipped that car for that price for a little bit before discontinuing it. Cybertruck was initially promised at a $39,000 base price, and now the cheapest model is over $60,000. My skepticism comes from Tesla’s past with similar promises.
The Difference Between the Robotaxi and Model 3
Comparing Autonomous Capabilities
There’s a philosophical question too, which is: what is the difference between this Robotaxi thing and a Model 3? Because Tesla has been promising for years that the car people are driving and buying today is going to be capable of full unsupervised self-driving, like the Model 3 and the Model Y. If my car is going to be able to do all that stuff, I think I want the one that can plug into superchargers and do all sorts of carrying things.
The Robovan Concept
The Vision for a Fully Autonomous Van
Somewhere about halfway through this presentation, they roll out this one-of-one super futuristic-looking massive van thing. Kind of looked like the military vehicles from I, Robot, to be honest, which probably isn’t a good thing. This Robovan will be fully electric, fully autonomous, and take groups or teams of people from point A to point B, with no manual override necessary.
Tesla’s AI and the Optimus Humanoid Robot
Optimus at the Event
Tesla had these Optimus robots all over the event this time—dancing, doing pre-rehearsed demos. They were serving drinks and snacks, walking around, interacting with and entertaining people, just hanging out amongst everyone at the event.
Questioning the AI Capabilities of Optimus
The Optimus robots were talking to people, and it was way too fast to be an LLM (language learning model). It was clearly someone speaking through the robot speakers. This human-assisted interaction became a talking point of the whole event, leaving people questioning how much of what the robots were doing was genuinely autonomous.
A Vision for the Future or Just Concepts?
Optimism and Challenges at the Event
This event showcased a lot of things that could have gone wrong. It represented, I think, a very optimistic view of the future, even though it’s still largely concepts. It’s a future that is potentially more efficient, potentially safer, and more technologically impressive than what we live in today.
Questions Around the Event’s Authenticity
Tesla gave big promises, which is where it felt weird. When it’s hard to believe the timeline, it raises questions about how much of this future is realistic, making the whole event questionable in terms of what’s real and what’s an aspiration.