Elon Musk reveals self-driving ‘Cybercab,’ Tesla shares fall 6% afterward

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On Thursday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk looked to the future as his sleek, self-driving Cybercab rolled through a staged city street at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Despite the flashy demonstration, the show didn’t quite manage to win over investors.

The Cybercab, a robotaxi, is an autonomous two-seater with double gull-wing doors, without a steering wheel or pedals.

At Tesla’s invite-only “We, Robot” event, Musk estimated the price of a Tesla Cybercab to be around $30,000 USD (£25,000). He suggested the vehicle might be ready for purchase by 2027.

With this relatively low price, Musk said autonomous vehicles could be considered as “individualised mass transit,” with a fuel cost of 20 U.S. cents per mile (12 U.S. cents per kilometre) over time.

Musk also highlighted that the Cybercab would feature inductive charging, meaning no plugs are required. Inductive charging is wireless, using electromagnetic induction to supply power; in this case, the vehicle would charge by simply driving onto a charging station.

Despite Musk’s ambitious claims and the excitement of the event crowd, investors remained unconvinced.

Tesla shares dropped six per cent by Friday morning. The stock, which has faced difficulties in recent years—largely due to concerns over competitors eroding Tesla’s market share—has climbed nearly 50 per cent since April, when Musk announced the shift towards robotaxis.

Nevertheless, Tesla shares have still fallen eight per cent over the past year, compared to a 33 per cent rise in the broader S&P 500 index.

Musk mentioned that the company has already built 21 Cybercabs.

At the same event, he also unveiled Tesla’s Robovan, a self-driving vehicle resembling a bus, capable of transporting 20 passengers or large quantities of goods.

Musk envisioned the Robovan as a solution to “high density” transport, such as moving entire sports teams.

He stated that the Robovan would also use inductive charging but did not disclose its expected production timeline or cost.

“With autonomy, you get your time back,” Musk said, claiming the Cybercab would enhance people’s lives by freeing them from driving in traffic or hunting for parking spaces.

“You can think of a car in the autonomous world being like a little lounge,” he said, noting that future Tesla owners could work, watch films, or use their phones instead of focusing on the road.