?? Are we there yet? Tesla shows off Robotaxis and the Optimus Robot ??

What Happened?

Tesla has been teasing autonomous vehicles for years, and at their recent “We, Robot” event, they finally revealed the Cybercab Robotaxi. Imagine a futuristic two-seater, a smaller version of the Cybertruck, fully driverless. Pretty cool, right? But is this the future we’ve been dreaming of, or just another tech fantasy? Let’s take a closer look.

Elon Musk announced that it’ll hit the streets by 2026, priced under $30,000. The goal? To make autonomous transportation so affordable that you won’t even need to own a car anymore. Musk claims it will operate at just $0.20 per mile, cheaper than public transport!

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology is behind it, designed to navigate traffic, avoid obstacles, and get you to your destination—all without a human driver. Sounds like a dream, but experts are already questioning how feasible this is. Jameson Dow from Electrek even wondered why Tesla didn’t just upgrade its existing cars to do the same thing instead of creating a whole new product line. ??

How did the experts react?

If you just follow the $, you can get a sense of how the market reacted to these lazy, premature announcements. The Tesla stock has dropped by 10% past 5 days. Below is a sampling of what the experts had to say:

"What Tesla showed tonight was a lot of sci-fi smoke and mirrors. What they haven't shown yet is software that has the capabilities of an automated driving system ... Musk has yet to prove that a vision-only approach for automation is viable. And he didn't address that issue tonight."-MATTHEW WANSLEY, PROFESSOR AT NEW YORK'S CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW

"(The two-seater design) is not practical at all. The people who really need some sort of door-to-door service are maybe perhaps the elderly, the young, or those who cannot otherwise catch public transport. Just having that two seats, it's not going to work." - HANNAH YEE-FEN LIM, PROFESSOR, NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

?? Optimus: Tesla’s Not-So-Human Helper

Tesla didn’t stop with just cars—enter Optimus, the humanoid robot ??. These bots were shown mixing drinks and mingling with guests at the event, but before you get too excited, here’s the kicker: they’re not fully autonomous yet. Turns out, humans were remotely operating them, wearing special suits that translated their movements to the robots. “Today I’m assisted by a human, I’m not yet fully autonomous,” one of the operators admitted on video. ??♂?

That said, Musk has big dreams for Optimus. He envisions these robots taking over dangerous, boring, or repetitive tasks, all for a price of $20,000 to $30,000. Imagine having your very own robot helper at home! But for now, Optimus is more of a prototype than a fully functioning AI assistant.

?? The Robotaxi Reality Check

Tesla’s Cybercab might look like it’s ready to zoom through futuristic streets, but analysts are skeptical. Adam Jonas from Morgan Stanley pointed out that there were no specifics on tech like sensors, range, or safety features—kinda important stuff, right? Even John Krafcik, former CEO of Waymo, was critical of the two-seater design, questioning its practicality for families or people with luggage.

Plus, let’s not forget the regulatory hurdles Tesla needs to clear before these robotaxis can take to the streets. In the U.S., getting approval for autonomous vehicles is no small task, and Tesla didn’t provide any clear plans on how they’re going to make that happen.

One big question hanging over the event was: where’s the Model 2? Tesla has long hinted at creating a more affordable EV - the Model 2, which was supposed to be priced at $25,000 - but instead, we got the Cybercab. Why pivot? Jameson Dow suggested that Tesla could have hit the market faster with a cheaper EV rather than banking on robotaxis, which still have a long way to go before becoming a reality.

?? Dileep’s Skeptical Takeaway

Yeah, we are definitely not there yet. Between the regulatory hurdles and unresolved technical details, we might be waiting a while before our streets and homes are run by Robotaxis and Optimus Robots. Until I see a robot folding my laundry or a driverless taxi taking me to the airport, I’m holding back my excitement.

Sources:

• Tesla’s Robotaxi Event
• First Ride Review of Tesla Robotaxi
• Why Cybercab Instead of Model 2?
• Optimus Robots at the Event
• Tesla Ripping Off I, Robot?
• QUOTES: Lot of sci-fi smoke and mirrors: Investors, experts react to Tesla's robotaxi unveil