Elon Musk reveals four AI chips from Tesla. Driverless taxis without steering wheels will go into mass production next year and are about to make their debut in China.
Vote on the Trillion - Dollar Compensation Plan Imminent, Musk Steps in to "Steady the Troops"!
According to CheDongXi on November 3rd, recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk clearly stated in the "All In Podcast" that Tesla will start producing the Cybercab, a robot - taxi, in the second quarter of next year, and the final mass - produced version of the Cybercab will not be equipped with a steering wheel or pedals.
▲ Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Meanwhile, what seems to be the real Cybercab has been exposed. According to foreign media Teslarati, some industry insiders pointed out that the Cybercab in the photos looks close to mass - production, or at least some of its components are close to the finished state.
▲ Tesla officially released what might be a real - life photo of the Cybercab
According to Tesla China's official statement, its Cybercab driverless taxi will make its Asia - Pacific debut at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, which opens on November 5th.
In addition to previewing the Cybercab, Musk also predicted that by the end of the year, Tesla's Robotaxi vehicles will be able to drive on the road without safety monitors, and Tesla will also conduct a demonstration of the super - car Roadster 2 before the end of the year.
At the same time, Musk mentioned the next - generation AI chip AI5 again, and also mentioned three generations of chips, AI6/7/8 all at once, which really whetted people's appetites.
Just three days later, on November 6th local time, Tesla will hold a general meeting of shareholders to vote on Musk's compensation plan worth $1 trillion (about 70 trillion RMB). This vote not only concerns Musk's personal income but also will determine Tesla's long - term strategic direction in the fields of autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
In this regard, Musk's recent frequent statements may be a profound strategic move, showing Tesla's confidence in technology and business progress, further responding to disputes, and perhaps helping to manage market expectations and better prepare for the shareholders' meeting.
01. Real - life Cybercab May Be Exposed, Mass - produced Version Without Steering Wheel
Musk recently stated that all cars currently produced by Tesla can become autonomous taxis (Robotaxis), such as the Model 3 or Model Y. Although they look ordinary, all cars produced by Tesla have the ability of full - self driving.
As for the Cybercab, a robot - taxi specially built by Tesla for Robotaxi services, Musk expects that the annual production of this car will eventually reach millions.
▲ Picture of the Tesla Cybercab when it was released
According to earlier news, the Cybercab may be mass - produced within 2026, and its cost may be controlled within $30,000 (about 210,000 RMB).
Recently, spy photos of what seems to be the Cybercab model have circulated in the industry. From the photos, this model is equipped with a rear - view mirror and a steering wheel.
▲ Spy photo of what might be the Tesla Cybercab (Source: Internet)
Tesla also officially released a set of promotional photos. The model in the photos is considered by the outside world to be the Cybercab. Compared with the picture released last year, the new car may have added side indicator lights, is equipped with traditional rear - view mirrors and smaller wheel hub covers, and the headlight design now consists of multiple light beads, looking more conservative than the concept car.
▲ Tesla officially released what might be a real - life photo of the Cybercab
According to Musk, the mass - produced version of the Cybercab will not be equipped with a steering wheel or pedals.
He used the situation of taking an Uber or Lyft as an example to illustrate that people don't actually desire to take over the driving.
Musk said, "The reality is that people may think they want to drive the car themselves, but in fact, they don't. How many times have you sat in an Uber or Lyft and thought, 'I really wish I could take over the driving, put down my phone, and drive to the destination myself'? The answer is zero times."
Although the current test vehicles are still equipped with a steering wheel and pedals, this is only because regulations require test vehicles to have manual control capabilities.
02. Tesla's Driverless Taxis to Hit the Road Without Safety Monitors by the End of the Year
Musk also said that Tesla's autonomous taxi tests in Austin are progressing smoothly, mainly due to improvements in fleet management and the development of ride - hailing software.
Although Musk is trying to bring confidence to the market through a series of statements, the promotion of Tesla's Robotaxi doesn't seem that easy.
▲ A running Tesla Robotaxi (Source: Internet)
According to foreign media electrek, Elon Musk may have recently retracted his originally ambitious goal for driverless taxis, changing the goal from "covering half of the US population by the end of 2025" to a more "modest" goal of launching the service in "8 to 10 major US metropolitan areas" in the next two months.
However, reports show that even the significantly reduced schedule still faces major obstacles.
Citing The Information, Tesla is making slow progress in the most basic regulatory approvals.
It is reported that the company has not yet completed the necessary documents for providing driverless taxi services in Arizona and Nevada, two of the three states where Musk plans to promote the Robotaxi by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, in California, where Tesla's Robotaxi is being tested, there is still a safety monitor in the driver's seat. Therefore, Tesla's Robotaxi service in California is regarded by the outside world as a ride - hailing service, and Tesla provides "supervised full - self driving" technology.
In response, Musk also previewed, "It is expected that by the end of the year, the vehicles will be able to drive on the road without safety monitors."
03. New Super - car to Be Demonstrated Before the End of the Year, Progress of Four Generations of Future Chips Announced
Recently, there have been many rumors in the industry about Tesla's new super - car. Musk said that Tesla is about to showcase the new Roadster.
▲ Hypothetical picture of Tesla's new Roadster in the industry (Source: Internet)
Tesla stopped producing its first - generation Roadster in 2012 and launched the next - generation Roadster in 2017. This car was originally planned to go into production in 2020 but has been postponed every year since then.
Previously, Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen confirmed externally that Tesla will release a brand - new Roadster super - car before the end of this year.
In the podcast, Musk said that there will be an unforgettable demonstration of the Roadster 2 before the end of the year. At the same time, there are rumors in the industry that Tesla is recruiting battery manufacturing engineers for the new battery of the Roadster 2.
When asked if the car can really fly, Musk said he has to wait for the demonstration to know the answer.
Musk added, "I think this could be the most unforgettable product launch in history. The technology in this car is just crazy. Crazy technology, really crazy."
▲ Tesla CEO Elon Musk
He also said, "This car is crazier than any of James Bond's cars. Even if you add up all of James Bond's cars, it's still crazier."
In addition, Musk also officially announced the progress of self - developed chips on social media.
Musk revealed, "Tesla's AI5 chip has completed the design review."
▲ Musk previewed the progress of the AI5 chip
According to previous reports, the AI5 chip is Tesla's next - generation FSD chip, with a computing power of 2000 - 2500 TOPS, five times that of the current HW4 chip, and can support more complex unsupervised FSD algorithms. This chip will be jointly manufactured by TSMC and Samsung.
Musk also revealed the R & D plans for the AI6 and AI7 chips and even directly said, "AI8 will be beyond imagination," really raising people's expectations.
04. Conclusion: Tesla Faces Both Opportunities and Challenges
Tesla has built a vertical ecosystem from AI chips, autonomous driving algorithms to vehicle manufacturing based on the logic of full - stack self - development. While some competitors are still catching up with existing models, Tesla has already started to define the next - generation transportation form, which is also where Tesla leads.
However, Tesla also has its concerns: the regulatory approval progress lags behind the technological development; the promise to remove safety monitors conflicts with current regulations; and the history of multiple delays of the Roadster also reminds the market that Tesla's aggressive schedule needs to pass the test of mass production.
This article is from the WeChat official account "CheDongXi", author: Guo Yue. Republished by 36Kr with permission.