Elon Musk transformed the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California, into a futuristic city last night for Tesla's "We, Robot" event. The experience, designed to immerse attendees in a future shaped by autonomous vehicles and robot assistants, unveiled two new additions to Tesla's lineup: the Cybercab and Robovan.
Cybercab is a fully autonomous, two-passenger vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals, while the Robovan is a larger vehicle designed to carry up to 20 passengers that can be adapted to commercial or personal use (school bus, RV, and cargo). Musk's arrival in a Cybercab set the tone for the night: an emphasis on what autonomous technology could mean for cities, society, and the way we live.
On stage, Musk's vision painted a picture of transformation—a future where the need for human-driven vehicles is entirely eliminated. "We want to have a fun, exciting future that if you could look in a crystal ball and see, you'd be like, 'Yes, I wish I could be there now,'" he told the audience.
He spoke passionately about reclaiming urban spaces currently dedicated to parking lots and turning them into parks, creating greener, more livable cities. As he spoke, he showed animations depicting this idealized world. In typical Musk style, his future was inspiring and truly ambitious. But, if realized, it would be incredibly transformative. I, for one, would love to see and live in cities like that.
Musk also touched on the economic impact of autonomous transportation. He highlighted how most cars are idle for about 158 hours a week, and only used for about 10 hours. By making vehicles fully autonomous, Tesla aims to drastically increase the utilization of cars, potentially making them five to ten times more useful.
Musk also emphasized the reduced cost of transportation, predicting that Cybercab could bring down the cost to around 20 to 40 cents per mile, significantly lower than the current average cost of a bus ride. This vision of more efficient and affordable transport could reshape not just how we move, but also the economics of car ownership.
Musk also showcased updates to Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot project. He described it as potentially the most important product Tesla would ever make. He emphasized that Optimus could fundamentally change the way we live, envisioning a future where every household has its own humanoid robot to assist with daily tasks. Musk predicted that Optimus would eventually become affordable enough ($20-30K) for widespread adoption, transforming not only labor dynamics but also enhancing quality of life.
This was unlike any event Musk had done before. It wasn't about technical details or performance specs. It was a glimpse into Musk's dream: a world in which transportation is no longer a burden, but an autonomous, reliable part of daily life.
The event's setting, the immersive experiences, and Musk's aspirational words combined to make "We, Robot" more of a futuristic theme park than a conventional product launch. The event blurred the lines between product demonstration and futuristic theme park, with 50 autonomous vehicles giving rides to attendees and Optimus robots partying and mingling with the crowd.
It wasn't always clear which capabilities were fully developed and which were simulated for the experience. For example, the Optimus robots that were interacting with people weren't fully autonomous; they were being teleoperated by humans.
For Musk, however, it didn't matter, it was about conjuring a sense of wonder for what might be possible in the years to come. For those there in person, it was a spectacular (albeit aspirational), glimpse of tomorrow—a tangible portrayal of a future that Musk insists is closer than we think.
Tesla aims to begin unsupervised full self-driving in Texas and California next year, with Cybercab production targeted for some time before 2027.