When it has to put some argumentation about the decision to make its Cybercab or Robotaxi vehicle a two-seater, Tesla usually puts out some statistics how the vast majority of trips in the US are made with only one or two people in the car.
The lead Cybercab engineer, however, is now inadvertently giving another reason for the decision, costs. While taking questions about the Robotaxi during a display event, he mentioned that the two-seat design unlocks a lot of energy efficiency, aerodynamics, and easy cleaning opportunities.
Also, the Cybercab evidently only has half of the number of parts that go into Tesla's current cheapest vehicle, the Model 3, or just 40% of the parts that go into its bestselling Model Y.
This and the fact that the Cybercab production line will be able to churn twice as many vehicles per hour as other automakers, as per Elon Musk, may allow Tesla to keep a hefty margin on the car despite its sub-$30,000 pricing.
The Robotaxi will only be powered by a 40 kWh battery pack, too, which cuts its costs further, but the lightweight aerodynamic design will let it cover 200 miles on a charge regardless. Tesla is planning to top it up on inductive chargers, so the powertrain architecture is probably built on the same modern 800V platform that the Cybertruck runs on.
Tesla says it can top up with 93% efficiency on the wireless charging pads. Other energy efficiency points that the lead Cybercab engineer mentions are its large-diameter tires with low rolling resistance and, of course, the fact that it doesn't have a steering wheel or pedals to make it lighter again.
The Robotaxi/Cybercab is running on Tesla's latest FSD 13 version that brings numerous improvements such as autoparking and has been doing so at its presentation event back in October, too.
Finally, Tesla's engineer hinted that there are next versions of the Cybercab in the pipeline, which, however, will keep the wing doors as a futuristic design element.
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