The new submarines will be built at the government's shipbuilding centre in the southern port of Visakhapatnam
world20 hours ago
Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcased a two-door robotaxi with gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals at a much-hyped event on Thursday, sticking to long-held promises of autonomous cars driving long-term growth at the electric vehicle maker.
Musk travelled to the stage in a "Cybercab" and said production will start in 2026 with the vehicles being available to buy for less than $30,000.
"The autonomous future is here," Musk said. "We have 50 fully autonomous cars here tonight. You'll see model Ys and the Cybercab. All driverless."
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The Cybercab will cost 20 cents a mile to operate over time, use inductive chargers and not require any plugs. They will also rely only on cameras and artificial intelligence, without the need for other hardware that robotaxi players use.
Musk also showcased a larger, self-driving vehicle - called Robovan - capable of carrying up to 20 people, and showed off Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot.
Enthusiasm around the event has been on display across social media for weeks, with screenshots of invites and speculation on what might be disclosed. But investors and analysts have flagged challenges with the technology and reined in expectations.
Musk's plan is to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. Individual Tesla owners will also be able to make money on the app by listing their vehicles as robotaxis.
Thursday's event at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California, is titled "We, Robot" - an apparent nod to the "I, Robot" science-fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, but also echoes Musk's insistence that Tesla "should be thought of as an AI robotics company" rather than an automaker.
Those attending included investors, stock analysts and Tesla fans.
"Everything looks cool, but not much in terms of time lines, I'm a shareholder and pretty disappointed. I think the market wanted more definitive time lines," said Dennis Dick, equity trader at Triple D Trading. "I don't think he said much about anything... He didn't give much info."
Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would have operational robotaxis by the next year. After missed promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand.
Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its ageing EV lineup. Steep price cuts meant to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins.
ALSO READ:
The new submarines will be built at the government's shipbuilding centre in the southern port of Visakhapatnam
world20 hours ago
Six years after Brazil legalised online sports betting, Latin America's biggest economy is battling what Finance Minister Haddad has called a 'pandemic'
world21 hours ago
She won the prize 'for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life'
world21 hours ago
The former Tata Group chairman died at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital. He was 86
world1 day ago
A licensed pilot who would occasionally fly the company plane, Tata never married and was known for his quiet demeanour, relatively modest lifestyle and philanthropic work
world1 day ago
Yoav Gallant described Iran's October 1 missile attack as a failure
world1 day ago
Topics such as 'we're back' were trending on Wednesday in Latin America's biggest country
world1 day ago
The call, under way late Wednesday morning US time, was the leaders' first known chat since August
world1 day ago