Elon Musk unveils self-driving robotaxi for surprisingly low price
When we imagine the future, towering sky-scrapers and self-driving cars usually top our lists.
We've already got bustling cities nailed down but pretty soon, driverless taxis could become commonplace.
Especially if Elon Musk has anything to do with it.
The billionaire tech giant unveiled Tesla's self-driving robotaxi at his We, Robot event on Thursday night (October 10) in Burbank, California.
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Musk also revealed the surprisingly low price the vehicles would go on sale for.
Dubbed the Cybercab, the bronze, futuristic-looking vehicle features two scissor doors, looking very similar to that of the wings of a bird.
But sit inside and you'll find neither pedals nor a steering wheel as you'd usually expect.
The Tesla CEO suggested production on the Cybercabs would begin some time 'before 2027.'
Car enthusiasts better not hold their breath, though, as Musk admitted: "I tend to be optimistic with time frames."
The project has already been pushed back from August due to design changes Musk said he felt were important to make.
During his talk, Musk detailed the price the Cybercabs would go on sale for.
He claimed they'd cost less than $30,000 (£23,000).
One of Tesla's cheapest car models, for comparison, is the base Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive, starting at $38,990 (£29,837.88).
Responding to the Cybercab news on X, formerly Twitter, one fan wrote: "This indeed does look like the future".
A second said: "I would buy the cyber cab for my day car."
Not everyone was so enthusiastic however, with one person saying: "The idea of a driverless taxi is cool and I want to see it happen but god this design makes me never want to be in one, like why cant it just look like an actual car and not a car from I, Robot."
Competing robotaxis are already in operation on some US roads, including the Waymo service, owned by Google parent company Alphabet.
The cabs use AI and machine learning to help calculate a safe route, 'allowing the car to respond in real time to the evolving traffic environment,' Google explains.
People in parts of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.can access the service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Uber also reportedly wants to add more autonomous vehicles to its fleet. It confirmed a multi-year partnership with driverless car developer Cruise in back August.
Elsewhere, Chinese tech company Baidu is also looking to expand its robotaxi service, Apollo Go, beyond China.
Topics: Technology, Elon Musk, Tesla
Ellie Kemp