Tesla unveils its fully autonomous Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals

At an event that promised to be memorable at the Warner Bros studios in California, the head of Tesla unveiled his vision of the future early last Friday morning, Spain time. And the truth is that the anticipation it generated was more than justified.

Elon Musk took to the stage in a new Tesla model with no driver, seated in the right-hand seat usually reserved for the passenger. The Cybercab is a two-seat autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel, with an aerodynamic design clearly inspired by the Cybertruck and gull-wing doors. Its structure is made of stainless steel, as on the American manufacturer’s electric pickup, although in this case with golden touches to give it a more distinctive look. It is also worth mentioning the lighting strip running from side to side across both the front and rear, and one more feature that makes it unique: it has no charging port despite being a fully electric vehicle, since recharging is carried out wirelessly by induction.

For now, Tesla has not revealed specific data about its platform or its propulsion system, as the company has chosen to focus all attention on how it will change our lives, or at least the lives of those who live in the regions or countries where it operates. The company intends to have a fleet of these vehicles that anyone can request from a mobile app, as if it were an Uber, for their everyday journeys; while also promising extraordinarily low fares thanks to cost optimisation and the benefits of economies of scale.

If you want one, you will be able to buy it

The Cybercab will also be on sale for anyone interested in purchasing one for around 30 thousand dollars. A fairly affordable price that can also be paid off, since when the vehicle is not being used by its owner, instead of sitting parked and underused in the garage, it could be performing robotaxi duties, thus generating income for both Tesla and the owner of the vehicle.

According to Elon Musk, the fully autonomous supervised driving system that owners in North America who purchased the corresponding package for the Model 3 or Model Y already enjoy will take an important step in 2025 by becoming unsupervised. In other words, the head of Tesla promises that it will be possible to get into the vehicle, select a destination, and let the car take you there while you take a nap or scroll through your phone. For now, however, for legal reasons it will be limited solely to the states of California and Texas.

Once fully unsupervised autonomous driving becomes a reality in the vehicles Tesla currently sells, it will be time to begin production of the Cybercab, since, as we have said, it lacks a steering wheel and pedals altogether. Elon Musk has admitted to being somewhat optimistic about timelines, but he is convinced that his autonomous robotaxis will begin driving through the streets of some American cities before 2027.

Time will tell whether this turns out to be the case or not, but if the head of Tesla ultimately keeps his promise, it will mark a before and after in the automotive sector and in electric mobility.