Tesla shows CyberCab and Robovan to launch 'before 2027' for under $30,000

Elon Musk hosted the 'We, Robot' launch event shows off the long-awaited robotaxi and Optimus robots

The Tesla Cybercab should arrive before 2027 (Image credit: Tesla)

• 🚕 Tesla unveiled the Cybercab and Robovan robotaxis at its ‘We, Robot’ event

• 💰 Elon Musk says Cybercab will be under $30,000 and will launch ‘before 2027’

• 🚌 Robovan can transport up to 20 people and goods for $0.05 or $0.10/mile

• 🔮 “We want to change the look of the roads,” Musk said. “The future should look like the future”

• 🤖 Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot has “made a lot of progress” and is estimated by Musk to cost $20,000 to $30,000 when produced at scale

Tesla’s out to change the look of roads, and with that, it introduced two robotaxis at its “We, Robot” launch event tonight in Los Angeles: the Cybercab and the Robovan.

"There's no steering wheel or pedals... so I hope this goes well," joked Tesla founder Elon Musk as he talked about the capabilities of Cybercab with lofty promises. “We’ll move from supervised full self-driving to unsupervised full self-driving so you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”

The Cybercab has the ‘doors of a billionaire’ for $30,000 (Image credit: Tesla)

‘The future should look like the future’

“We want to change the look of the roads,” Musk said on stage at tonight’s event. “The future should look like the future.”

With that, Musk gave us our first glimpse of the Robovan, which can transport up to 20 people and goods – for times when you need something bigger than a Tesla Model Y. According to Musk, this fully autonomous van will be able to travel at $0.5 or $0.10/mile and be ideal for sports teams, for example.

Musk envisioned cities without the need for so many parking lots. “We’re taking the -ing lot out of ‘parking lot’,” he said, showing parking structures being replaced by green spaces in a series of slides.

This is the Tesla Robovan. “We're really making this,” said Musk (Image credit: Tesla)

Cybertaxi value

Musk mentioned that the average passenger car is only used for 10 hours per week and sits idle the vast majority of the time. But if they’re autonomous, they could be used five times, maybe 10 times more, increasing their value.

He also dove into the topic of how full-self-driving cars could save lives, saying that something like the Cybercab could be 10 times safer than a human. He analogized it to the archaic job of an elevator operator of yesterday who could get tired versus having elevators being fully autonomous today. “That’s how cars will be.”

Price and release date

Musk ballparked the price and release date of the Tesla Cybercab, saying it’ll cost under $30,000 and launch ‘before 2027.’ He briefly said in 2026 before catching himself and playing it safe with the release date window.

The Robovan doesn’t have a release window or price attached to it, but Musk did introduce the latest version of the Tesla Optimus robot with a price tag, saying that they “made a lot of progress” since the idea was unveiled with a literal guy in a suit.

Musk estimated Tesla Optimus robots will cost $20,000 to $30,000 when produced at scale (an important caveat), saying it’ll eventually cost “less than a car is my prediction long-term.” He said they’ll do whatever you want, too, as if you had your “own personal R2D2 or C3PO.”

And with that, Musk started the “We, Robot” launch event party with Telsa Optimus robots serving drinks to guests.