Cybercab Robotaxi might be Tesla's cheapest car when it debuts with wireless charging and self-cleaning

Tesla's teased Robotaxi prototypes became a reality in the form of a two-seater electric vehicle with inductive charging, butterfly doors, and alleged price of "under $30,000" before any tax credits when it is  eventually released in 2026.

The Robotaxi will be made available for anyone to buy, too, making it Tesla's cheapest car announced to date, if Elon Musk's quotes hold water in the end. While not the proverbial $25,000 Model 2, a sub-$30,000 Robotaxi price sounds just as promising, apart from the fact that it can only carry two passengers.

Elon Musk kept calling it the Cybercab during its Hollywood studio presentation, while Tesla officially lists it as the Robotaxi on its website. The design has Cybertruck-ish vibes, just as teased and expected. Elon said they postponed the unveiling because he wanted to introduce some changes to the way the Robotaxi looks at the front, and if those changes were to slap a Cybertruck-style light bar at the edge of the hood, they succeeded.

The Robotaxi offers no pedals or steering wheel as Elon said they plan to release unsupervised FSD next year in Texas and California, and that is when the inaugural Robotaxi rides will take place. The sheer fact that Tesla is planning to launch Level 4 or Level 5 Full Self-Driving feature in such limited area underscores the challenges before any promised mass Robotaxi adoption on public roads. 

Tesla Robotaxi wireless charging

Tesla, however, stayed light on details about the Robotaxi's exact range, battery type, charging speeds, or acceleration specs. Elon did drop a bombshell, saying that the Robotaxi will be Tesla's first car that will come with wireless charging.

The inductive charging concept means that Tesla won't have to equip the Robotaxi with a NACS port, but it also means that there will only be dedicated pads where it can charge, and speed will likely be way slower than wired charging, just like with phones.

Robotaxi self-cleaning

Since the Robotaxi will be a part of a larger Cybercab ride-share platform that Tesla owners can also participate in with their own Model Y or Model 3 vehicles, Tesla had to find a way to clean it between rides.

It recently patented a system of UV rays and automatic vacuuming for self-cleaning, and that is exactly what it showed during the unveiling. While the Robotaxi is charging, for instance, a robotic arm with a vacuum cleaner enters the interior, swipes all the crumbs, then wipes the big touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard clean.

It remains to be seen how often the Robotaxi will have to do this, as the patent also refers to a system that detects when the car is dirty or contaminated based on various sensors and even the weather:

• Environmental detection through various sensors: detecting temperature, humidity, presence of pathogens, etc.
• Customized sanitation routines: generating appropriate sanitation routines based on detected environmental conditions.
• Various sanitation methods: utilizing HVAC systems, UV lighting, steam generators, etc.
• Automated processes: automatically executing sanitation processes when people are absent. Adaptive system: adjusting sanitation methods considering external weather, vehicle usage history, etc.

Tesla Robotaxi price, tax credit, and release date

Tesla has pegged the Robotaxi price at $29,990 at the most, as far as its usual pricing structure goes. It may very well be able to do it for less, considering that the Model 3 production cost is about $28,000 apiece, but this car only has two seats and a screen, with no pedals, steering wheel, or charging port.

Given that it will most likely be powered by Tesla's own 4680 battery cells manufactured with the dry cathode method, the autonomous car will likely qualify for the full federal new EV tax credit of $7,500, too. That would bring the Robotaxi price down to $22,490, so here it is, the proverbial sub-$25,000 car by Tesla. Being a driverless Robotaxi it should also come with FSD 13 or later for free, too.

Elon said that the Robotaxi's net operating costs, when produced at scale, will be about $0.20/mile, and starting from $0.30/mile gross. He gave a comparison with a bus pass and said that the average subsidized operating costs there are $1/mile, but it remains to be seen how these calculations will hold up in reality.

Tesla aims to release the Robotaxi in 2026, starting its mass production two years from now, or at about the time it is said to start producing its more orthodox steering wheel-equipped sibling - the Model 2 - on the same platform.

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