The steering wheel, pedals, and rearview mirrors are all gone! Tesla's Robotaxi "Royal Flush" debuts: costing less than $30,000, expected to start production in 2026

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, at 22:00 on October 10th (10:00 on October 11th Beijing time) in the Eastern United States, the "We, Robot" event hosted by Tesla (TSLA.US) was held at Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, where the Robotaixi prototype Cybercab made its official debut. This highly anticipated robot taxi prototype, Cybercab, may start production in 2026 with a cost potentially lower than $30,000.

It is reported that at the beginning of the event, Musk personally arrived at the scene by riding in the Cybercab. The live broadcast showed that the Cybercab's doors open like butterfly wings, with sharp edges and stainless steel finishes, no accelerator or brake pedals, no steering wheel, and no rearview mirrors.

In addition, the event also showcased bovan - an autonomous shuttle bus, a futuristic-looking Robovan concept vehicle that can carry 20 people.

Musk mentioned that consumers will be able to purchase the Cybercab. When someone in the crowd shouted to ask when they could buy it, Musk gave a vague response. "Maybe, I'm not optimistic about the timeframe, but let me predict that it will be around 2026 or 2027."

It is worth noting that as the "trump card" of the event, the Tesla Robotaxi, Musk's speech lacked any technical details, such as how Tesla plans to advance it as a fully autonomous driving assistance package to the point where consumers no longer need to supervise the system. Musk stated that Tesla expects to offer this feature to Model 3 and Model Y owners in Texas and California next year.

Furthermore, Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments and a Tesla investor, also attended the event. She stated, "The only confirmed information from this event is that a Cybercab will be priced at $30,000."

During the event, Musk also mentioned that once the Optimus robot is mass-produced, it should be available for purchase at around $20,000 to $30,000. It can act as a teacher, take care of children, walk dogs, mow lawns, go grocery shopping, and even serve as a social assistant Elon Musk wrote on his social media network X that the reason the event was delayed by an hour was due to a medical emergency in the crowd. The event was noticed by the Zhitong Financial APP, and after the live broadcast of the conference, Tesla's stock price fell in the night market, dropping by more than 4% at one point. During the live broadcast of the conference, it had risen by more than 5% at one point