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Tesla presents Cybercab in Europe

(dpa) At the presentation of a self-driving taxi by Tesla in Hollywood, only selected guests were present. Now, the US company is taking the prototype on tour - even though much remains unclear.

Tesla's Cybercab resembles a "shrunken" Model 3. | Photo: dpa Hannes P Albert
Tesla's Cybercab resembles a "shrunken" Model 3. | Photo: dpa Hannes P Albert
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von Thomas Kanzler

Tesla is showing the European public for the first time its vision of a vehicle intended to autonomously transport people as a robotaxi. The prototype of the "Cybercab" will be on display from this Friday until December 8 in showrooms in Berlin, Paris, and London. Later, the robotaxi is also set to be presented to the public in Oslo, Stockholm, and Amsterdam.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the long-promised robotaxi six weeks ago (October 10) to a select audience at a Hollywood studio in Los Angeles. The "Cybercab" vehicle features two upward-opening gullwing doors and looks like a coupe based on Tesla's best-selling Model 3. The two-seater comes without a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal.

The concept envisions that passengers inform the "Cybercab" via an app where they want to go. Tesla plans to begin production of the vehicles in 2026, Musk said at the Hollywood event. At the same time, he admitted that he tends to be overly optimistic with timelines. A possible market launch in Europe also remains unclear.

Tesla competitors already driving autonomously

In the USA, robotaxis are already on the roads, but not from Tesla. Instead, they are primarily from Google’s sister company Waymo. Their vehicles make more than 100,000 passenger trips every week without a human driver in four U.S. cities. In San Francisco, Jaguar electric vehicles converted to self-driving cars by Waymo have become part of the cityscape. In China too, robotaxi developers like tech giant Baidu are making rapid progress. Waymo and Tesla are pursuing different technical concepts. While the Google sister company equips its vehicles elaborately with more expensive laser radars, Tesla chief Musk insists that self-driving cars can operate using only cameras. However, numerous industry experts doubt that this can provide enough information about road traffic and the surroundings.

Translated automatically from German.
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