Tesla CEO Elon Musk managed to surprise the participants of the “We, Robot” event by presenting a vehicle that the public did not expect – a minibus with autopilot, called Robovan. The futuristic electric car will be able to transport people or goods.
Image source: Tesla
The minibus looks very unusual. Tesla Robovan (Musk emphasized the second syllable in the name of the car) resembles a fantastic vehicle of the Art Deco era – its streamlined body resembles the shape of a locomotive with hidden wheels. The vehicle can carry up to 20 people or be used for freight transport.
«Robovan is what will solve the problem of high density [of passengers]. So if you want to take a sports team somewhere or really reduce the cost of travel, I don’t know, to 5-10 cents per mile (1.61 km), you can use Robovan,” Musk said.
Robovan will be able to operate within the Tesla Network, an autonomous ride-hailing service for specially designed self-driving cars, or as a private vehicle for Tesla customers. The company previously hinted that it was going to release a similar car – it was about “urban transport with a high density of passengers” – and mentioned a bus with autopilot. And at Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting, Musk showed an image of a camouflaged car resembling a van.
Musk has always had some disdain for public transport, so the release of a minibus seemed unlikely. But in Tesla’s plans, “buses” and “commercial/passenger vans” were listed as “TBD” (to be determined).