Inside Tesla’s futuristic Robotaxi: Elon Musk’s long-awaited driverless cab features NO steering wheel or pedals – and could cost less than $30,000

You could easily mistake it for a prop from the latest science-fiction blockbuster.

But after years of promises, Elon Musk now says Tesla’s driverless Robotaxi will soon be a reality.

The futuristic autonomous car has no steering wheel, pedals, or rear window and has just enough room for two passengers. 

Launched at Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ event last night, the all-electric vehicle will cost less than $30,000 (£23,000) and only 20 cents (15p) per mile to run.

Even better, tech fans may not have to wait long to see it take to the streets, as the billionaire SpaceX founder claims the Robotaxi will be available before the end of 2027.

Tesla’s new Robotaxi will be the first car developed by the company specifically for autonomous driving.

Its space-age design features butterfly-wing doors that open upwards to reveal a small cabin, which just large enough for two passenger seats.

The tight cabin appears to be a product of the extremely large rear boot which opens from where the rear window would normally begin. 

The interior is minimalist, featuring very few of the trappings we might normally associate with cars.

Interior photos show only two cupholders and a large screen similar to those found in other Tesla models.

According to Elon Musk, who introduced the new car on stage in Hollywood, the Robotaxi will not even feature a charging port for its electric batteries.

Instead, the Robotaxi will drive over an inductive charging station and receive power wirelessly – allowing it to charge without human assistance.

Stripped of any manual controls, the car gives more space for its two passengers to sit back and relax. 

Speaking at the event, Musk claimed that the Robotaxi would be more like a ‘comfortable little lounge’ than a traditional vehicle.

He said: ‘You can do whatever you want while you’re in this comfortable little lounge, and when you get out, you will be at your destination.’

The eventual goal is for the Robotaxis to form the basis of a ride-sharing service like Uber.

Robotaxi owners will be able to lease out their cars to run trips for other people when they are not using them.

That might mean turning your car loose to earn money driving late-night travellers while you are safely asleep in bed.

‘The vast majority of the time, cars are just doing nothing. But if they’re autonomous, they could be used five times more, maybe 10 times more,’ claimed Musk.

In the future, Musk claims that individuals might own entire fleets of Robotaxis and ‘take care of them like a shepherd tends to their flock.’

At the ‘We, Robot’ event – likely a reference to Isaac Asimov’s novel ‘I, Robot’ – Tesla also unveiled a larger self-driving bus called the Robovan.

This van’s stylised design also features no interior controls but includes enough space to seat 20 people.

Alternatively, Musk claims that the Robovan could be configured to transport goods around a city autonomously.

Musk says: ‘If you want to transport a sports team somewhere or you’re looking to really get the cost of travel down to 5-10 cents a mile, you can use the Robovan.’

Commenting on the striking exterior design of the Robovan, which features a sleek black and gold aesthetic, Musk said Tesla’s ambition had been similar to the design of the Cybertruck.

‘We want to change the look of the roads,’ Musk said. 

‘The future should look like the future.

Tesla also used the event to showcase its updated Optimus robots which stood in the crowd of guests, waving and serving drinks.

At the end of the event, a group of robots took to a neon stage and danced to Daft Punk’s Robot Rock. 

Musk predicted that the price of the robot ‘at scale’ would be similar to that of a Robotaxi at $30,000 (£23,000)

The Tesla CEO predicted that the Robotaxi would launch fully autonomous driving in Texas and California next year, paving the way for the Robocab to enter production in 2026.

Qualifying his statement, Musk said that the car would be available before the end of 2027, adding: ‘I tend to be a little optimistic with timeframes.’

That overoptimism is something that has been a hallmark of Tesla’s fully autonomous ambitions since the company’s foundation.

As early as 2016, Musk promised that Tesla’s self-driving cars were only two years away.

By 2018, Musk was still certain that self-driving was just a year away and in 2019 he once again said that full self-driving cars would arrive that year.

However, Tesla is already behind rivals Waymo and Cruise which have successfully deployed small fleets of autonomous taxis in multiple US cities.

Tesla’s self-driving cars are also likely to rely on the onboard camera and computers, rather than the more expensive depth-sensing lidar technology used by other companies.

Likewise, the safety of Tesla’s current autonomous driving capabilities has come under increasing scrutiny.

Earlier this year, Tesla was forced to settle a lawsuit launched by the family of an Apple engineer who died in 2018 after his Tesla veered into a safety barrier while on autopilot.  

In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections.

This has left many concerned about whether Musk will be able to deliver the fully autonomous vehicles he has so long promised.

Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles, says: ‘Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it’s not reassuring us.

‘I don’t know why the headlines continue to be “What will Tesla announce?” rather than “Why does Tesla think we’re so stupid?”‘