Elon Musk Gives First Look at Driverless 'Cybercab,' 'Robovan' at Tesla Event

Elon Musk finally unveiled his highly-anticipated, fully-autonomous Cybercab vehicles at an invitation-only Tesla event at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, CA on Thursday night, along with a couple other surprises. Also revealed for the first time ever was a 20-person driverless "Robovan" and the latest generation of Tesla's Optimus robots.

CNBC reports that Musk showed up an hour late to the event, which was dubbed "We, Robot," as a play on the 2004 Will Smith sci-fi action film I, Robot . Driving up onto the stage in one of the Cybercabs, the 53-year-old told the crowd that the electric vehicles would be priced under $30,000. He also claimed the both the Cybercab and Robovan would feature inductive charging, which means that they don't need to be physically plugged into a charging station.

"The autonomous future is here," Musk told the crowd at the event. "With autonomy, you get your time back." He also had a couple dozen of the electric vehicles on site at the event for attendees to try out and be driven around the studio. "There’s no steering wheel or pedals so I hope this goes well," he reportedly joked onstage.

In images released by Tesla, the silver Cybercab can be seen featuring gull-wing doors, with no steering wheel or pedals. Meanwhile, the Robovan, which also does not have a steering wheel or pedals, was designed to resemble an old steam locomotive.

There were also a few dozen of the Optimus robots on hand at the event, including one dressed in a cowboy hat and bar apron to serve drinks to guests and another that played rock-paper-scissors. Although, one attendee noted that the robots appeared to be remotely controlled.

Musk claimed that the autonomous cabs, which he said would be rolled out before 2027, could be 10 times safer than humans and drive five to 10 times longer. In addition to the affordable price tag, he also said that they would boast an operating cost of 20 cents a mile.