(Elon Musk.) Image source: "Screenshot of the new product launch of "WE ROBOT")
"As you can see, I just got here in our Robotaxi and there are more than 20 of them out there. As you can see, these Robotaxis are driving on the road all the time, and there are no drivers in the car. ”
On October 11, Beijing time, Tesla held a new product launch conference with the theme of "WE ROBOT" at the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, ·United States. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said in his opening remarks.
It is reported that Tesla has released the Robotaxi service, two fully autonomous driving models, Cybercab Cybertaxi and Robovan driverless utility vehicle, and launched wireless inductive charging technology for Robotaxi.
The reporter of "China Business Daily" learned that the Robotaxi service released by Tesla relies on FSD's full self-driving capabilities, allowing all Tesla owners to join the shared fleet, in the form of a combination of Airbnb and Uber, innovating the existing shared travel and rental travel business model. The two new models, the Cybercab and Robovan, will form a huge service operation network together with the nearly 7 million Tesla electric vehicles already on the road.
Mass-produced humanoid robots cost about $20,000 to $30,000
"What does the future look like with Robotape? You can turn a parking lot into a park and make the city a better place. Musk said. It is worth noting that Tesla's Cybercab and Robovan both eliminated the steering wheel and pedals.
The reporter learned that in the future, users can buy Cybercab, which is expected to cost less than $30,000. Cybercab is expected to achieve mass production from 2026 to 2027, equipped with AI5 chips, and the car does not have a charging port, and will use wireless inductive charging.
Before mass production, users can experience Robotaxi on S3XY models and Cyber off-road wagons equipped with unsupervised FSD full self-driving capabilities, and all Tesla-produced vehicles will be adapted, provided that these models achieve unsupervised full self-driving after obtaining regulatory clearance in the United States, and then gradually roll out outside the United States.
Musk also mentioned the operating costs of the Cybercab. He estimates that Cybercab's operating costs may fall to about 20 cents per mile (about 0.9 yuan per kilometer) over time, and the cost in the United States including taxes and other fees is 30-40 cents (about 1.3-1.8 yuan), which everyone can afford. The average cost per mile of city buses in United States is $1 (about 4.4 yuan / km, not a bus fare, because the fare includes subsidies).
The reporter noticed that another driverless car released by Tesla this time is Robovan. It is reported that this is a larger car than the Model Y, which can carry 20 people at a time, and can be used for commercial travel, private travel, school buses or to transport goods, and is expected to reduce the transportation cost to 5-10 cents/mile (about 0.2-0.4 yuan/km).
In addition to the above two driverless cars, Musk also introduced Tesla's humanoid robot with the same origin as the car. It is reported that everything Tesla has developed for electric vehicles, such as batteries, power electronic systems, advanced electric drive systems, software systems, and artificial intelligence computers, is suitable for humanoid robots, and the technology is homologous, it is just a robot with arms and legs and no wheels.
The reporter learned that the cost of a humanoid robot to achieve mass production in the future is about 20,000 to 30,000 US dollars, which may be cheaper than a car. According to Musk, you can be a teacher, take care of children, walk your dog, mow the lawn, shop, pour you drinks and drinks, and so on.
The "unsupervised version" of FSD is fully self-driving capable or launched
The release of the Robotaxi service is inseparable from Tesla's strong technical strength. In terms of technology, behind the Robotaxi is Tesla's FSD full self-driving capability. Based on the "end-to-end" large-scale model algorithm and powerful computing power, FSD's fully autonomous driving capability will allow Tesla to drive anywhere on the planet without relying on high-definition maps in the future. According to Tesla's plan, by 2025, the "unsupervised version" of FSD full self-driving capability will be officially launched in Texas and California.
In addition, outside of the United States, Tesla will continue to monitor regulatory developments. It is worth mentioning that the Model Y, which is now equipped with AI4 hardware, also supports the upgrade of the FSD full autonomous driving capability.
It is understood that as of the second quarter of 2024, Tesla's FSD full self-driving capability has accumulated more than 1.6 billion miles (about 2.574 billion kilometers), and with the continuous improvement of Tesla's ownership and mileage, the training data will accelerate.
"Tesla has done a good job with FSD with driver supervision. FSD will move from supervised mode to unsupervised fully autonomous driving. You can get on the bus directly, and the car can automatically take you to your destination. But one of the challenges is the cost of vehicle manufacturing, which is really expensive to buy a car, insurance, and car parking. Regarding the FSD that the outside world is concerned about, Musk said.
For fully autonomous driving, Musk said that if the car is fully autonomous, it can increase the usage rate by 5 to 10 times, and the value of the same car can be increased by 5 to 10 times, and the weekly use time can exceed 100 hours or even reach more than 160 hours.
In terms of safety, Musk said that the level of safety achieved by FSD can be about 10 times higher than that of human driving. Relevant data shows that at present, Tesla's Autopilot automatic driving assistance system has made the driving safety level reach 10.3 times that of ordinary driving.
The reporter learned that now, users can be the first to feel Tesla's intelligent driving strength on the Model S3XY model, and each Tesla has the configuration and ability to upgrade to more advanced autonomous driving software through OTA remote software. Tesla's millions of fleets are testing and collecting data, and they've experienced extremes that the average person would never have encountered in a lifetime.
Musk explained: "After so much training data, the FSD driving level will definitely be much higher than that of humans, after all, it is impossible for people to live a million times, but so many cars collect different data for training optimization, and ultimately make FSD safer than human driving." ”
In addition to safety, Musk believes that in the future, vehicles will not only reduce accident casualties, but also free up people's time in the car. "You can think of the car as a small mobile living room where you can stay comfortably and spend your time at will."
(Editor: Quartz Jing Review: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Jingning)