Tesla has become the latest company to unveil a ‘robotaxi’ a few months after Croatian startup Rimac did the same. Both cars are little two-seater three door coupe-like hatchbacks, similar in size and shape to the VW Scirocco and Honda CR-Z, and both omit steering wheel or pedals.
That’s because the idea is as the name suggests, a self-driving taxi that picks you up and drops you off at your destination. An app would summon the vehicle, just like Uber, the only difference being that there’s no driver.
Rimac’s Verne was unveiled earlier this year. It’s the more conventional looking of the two as Tesla’s Cybercab looks like a mix between a Model 3 and the controversial Cybertruck. The Verne has sliding van-like doors while the Cybercab uses McLaren inspired butterfly wing doors. That means the Verne may be more accessible for most passengers while the Tesla creates more of an impression on arrival.
Tesla also unveiled a driverless minibus alongside the Cybercab. This in theory could work similar to a shared taxi, a common sight in many parts of the world.
Both the Rimac and the pair unveiled by Tesla are concepts with plans to produce them in the coming years, if ever. But they have both laid the groundwork for an interesting concept. As we hear talks off self-driving cars, there is far less talk on what this means for the rest of us.
Typically, the discussion is around a privately owned luxury car that takes its wealthy owner to and from their destination but its robotaxis where the real future of this technology lies. Tesla boasts that its concept reduces car dependency and the need for parking spaces as it picks up one passenger after the next.
If both are successful in coming to market, it means a new segment of the car industry for stiff competition. Rimac and Tesla have beaten other brands to it but expect the legacy manufacturers to fight the robotaxi war with their own models in the future. Rest assured that Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, and co are watching this space very closely.
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