20 of Elon Musk’s friends try Cybercab in Austin
Safety monitor in front passenger seat during geofenced rides
Elon Musk offered rides to about 20 of his special friends in Austin, Texas on June 22nd. The trials were geofenced, limited to a specialized zone in the city and available to invited influencers and media personalities.
The vehicles are part of what Tesla calls “Robotaxis” or “Cybercabs.” On June 22nd, they were called “Cybercabs” and each one carried a safety monitor in the front passenger seat, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ also notes that former Tesla President Jon McNeill, who is on the board of General Motors, said there is room for several autonomous-vehicle companies but questioned whether the robotaxi business is as large as Tesla and its supporters have projected.
“It’s hard to square how people are arriving at a $1 trillion opportunity,” McNeill said.
Some longtime investors are skeptical, WSJ continues: investor Gary Black recently said he doesn’t expect Tesla’s robotaxi product to do much to boost the company’s value.
“I don’t see the upside at this point, but I see plenty of downside,” he said.
Tesla robotaxi will eventually end the need for cranky uber drivers!
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) June 22, 2025
In 2016, cheerful Uber drivers were going to replace cranky Taxi drivers. In 2025, apparently, riders are hoping technology will replace cranky Uber drivers.
