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By Naveen Prabu Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has introduced the "Cybercab," a fully autonomous robotaxi designed without steering wheels or pedals, with production set to start before 2027.
The announcement was made during a Tesla event "We, Robot" at Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, and live-streamed at Cyberjaya’s Tesla Experience Centre.
Musk said the Cybercab, available for less than US$30,000, will enable “individualised mass transit” and may contribute to reducing transit costs, among other advantages.
”When we think about transport today, there's a lot of pain that we take for granted that we think is normal, like having to drive around Los Angeles’ three-hour traffic.
”Tesla already does quite well at supervised self-driving, so we will move from supervised self-driving to unsupervised self-driving, where you could fall asleep and wake up at your destination,” he said.
Musk added that Tesla had at least 20 Cybercabs at the event, along with 50 fully autonomous vehicles, some of which were already driving around without any passengers.
Musk also said the average passenger car is used for only about 10 hours a week. Most of the time, cars are idle.
“But if they are autonomous (running continuously without rest, unlike human drivers), they could be used five times more, maybe even ten times more, so the same car could have five to ten times as much value.
“So with autonomy, you get your time back; this is a very big deal,” he said.
Musk also showcased Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which assisted in serving drinks, dancing, and performing various tasks during the event.
“It's just a robot with arms and legs instead of one with wheels, and we've made a lot of progress.
”It's something spectacular that anyone can own, allowing you to have your own personal R2-D2 or C-3PO (Star Wars characters), and I think at scale, this would cost something like US$20,000 to US$30,000,” he said.
The event also showcased the Robovan, a fully autonomous vehicle capable of transporting up to 20 passengers, which is slated for commercial production.
The event, streamed live at 10 am Malaysian time, attracted EV enthusiasts who gathered at the Cyberjaya centre.
-- BERNAMA
