Elon Musk Promised a ‘Storm of Cybercabs’ in Texas. This Week’s Launch Was Quiet and Musk
Elon Musk Promised a ‘Storm of Cybercabs’ in Texas. This Week’s Launch Was Quiet and Musk-Less
Following the Cybercab event, NHTSA announced that it is investigating Tesla to ensure these autonomous vehicles meet safety standards.
Anyone expecting yesterday’s launch for Elon Musk’s self-driving Tesla Cybercab to be a splashy, exciting, soundbite-laden press conference was probably a little disappointed. The Austin, Texas launch event turned out to be a private, invite-only affair and it wasn’t even live-streamed. Musk himself was absent, and the whole thing only lasted about 15 minutes.
What attendees did learn was that about 45 gold Cybercabs with butterfly doors had been registered with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (though no one knows how many will actually be joining Tesla’s existing Model Y robotaxi fleet in Austin), and they got to see examples in the flesh. They learned about how the cars were manufactured in an innovative way, that entire sections were cast as-is, reducing the need for paint and other expensive and environmentally-risky processes, and a few other details. One exhibit, for example, showed the car’s more advanced full self-driving computer. Attendees also got free rides in the vehicles. The company did not say when it would charge fares for the Cybercab rides, but did explain that dynamic pricing akin to that used by other ride-sharing apps would be part of the revenue plan.
Ahead of the event Musk took to X
Ahead of the event Musk took to X to post information promoting the cars, noting that they have operating cost advantages over rival Waymo self-driving cabs and he promised that a “Storm of Cybercabs” was going to sweep in, presumably ready to transform the transportation habits of the average American.
But attendees were reportedly asked to sign an NDA and then submit to an embargo before posting content online or on social media, which has resulted in a very different, quiet feel to this product launch compared to other Musk launch events.
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Popular Tesla website NotATeslaApp.com had previously hyped the launch, noting Tesla’s director of global sales for residential energy products James Bickford had posted on X saying it was “going to be an exciting 48 hours.” The publication was expecting an event “lasting only a few hours,” indicating “Tesla could have more surprises planned over the coming days.” But then the reporting tone switched, as the event seemed to change tack, and the site noted, disappointedly, that “viewers around the world were left waiting for an official feed that never arrived.”
The twin-door Cybercab lacks human-operated controls like pedals,
The twin-door Cybercab lacks human-operated controls like pedals, and even has no side mirrors. These are elements that are part of traditional cars; they’re subject to federal safety norms created for a hundred year-old car design paradigm.
Meanwhile, when approached about the Cybercab launch, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it was “in contact with Tesla and is evaluating the situation,” but did not elaborate any further.
Source: www.inc.com
