Tesla teases driverless Cybercabs with no steering wheel, no pedals ahead of secretive event
No steering wheel (or pedals), no problem?Tesla shared a tantalizing tidbit ahead of an Austin, Tex., event in which the automaker is expected to provide new details about driverless Cybercabs on Thursday night.“No steering wheel, no pedals,” the company wrote on X on Wednesday.Multi-billionaire owner Elon Musk chimed in, writing on his X account: “A Storm of Cybercabs.”The laconic messages came as fans and investors have been eagerly awaiting Thursday’s event, following Tesla’s reveal of a design for the autonomous taxis nearly two years ago.Musk has said the Cybercabs will debut as driverless two-seaters with butterfly doors and sans steering wheel and pedals – making them wholly reliant on self-driving technology.Musk fanboys have taken to social media to share video clips of Cybercab vehicles driving down public streets in Austin – seemingly missing a steering wheel and driver.One clip showed a gold metallic Cybercab pulling over to let two passengers put their luggage in the trunk and then sit in the car.It only partially opened the passenger-side door, seemingly to avoid hitting a traffic cone in the way.That would mark a significant benchmark for the company, which has been testing robotaxis in several markets around the country – but all have been equipped with traditional steering controls with a human driver on-board.If Tesla reveals a fully autonomous Cybercab at its Thursday event, it could help the struggling automaker’s stock bounce back.
Shares in Tesla are down 13% so far this year.Musk has billed the Cybercab as a key facet of the company’s long-term path to growth, as it has struggled with slumping sales of its electric cars. Musk – the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $915 billion, according to Forbes – has said the company will transform into a broader tech firm focusing on artificial intelligence and humanoid robots.Investors are hopeful Musk’s firm will announce an imminent rollout of the Cybercabs ...