- Tech Youtuber MKBHD cast doubt on Elon Musk’s Cybercab timeline.
- With less than four months to go, it looks like the bet could be safe.
- However, MKBHD concedes that Tesla is at the forefront of change.
Back in October 2024, Tesla’s “We, Robot” event introduced the world to Optimus, the Robovan, and the Cybercab. Drawing design inspiration from the Cybertruck, the Cybercab offered yet another look at the proposed driverless car future, this time sans a steering wheel and pedals.
But the biggest shocker was the Tesla CEO’s claim that not only did he expect the Cybercab to be offered to customers at under $30,000, but that it would also enter high-volume production before 2027. Granted, by his own admission, Elon Musk said at the time that he tends to be “a little optimistic with timeframes,” but it got tech creator Marcus Brownlee, aka MKBHD, thinking.
More: Tesla Offers Rides In A Car With No Wheel Or Pedals, So Naturally The Feds Showed Up
So confident was MKBHD that Tesla wouldn’t meet such a timeline, he made a bit of a one-sided bet: he offered to shave his head live on camera if they made good. To be specific, Brownlee said that Tesla wouldn’t sell a Cybercab to a customer for $30,000 before 2027.
Semantics aside, that moment triggered a bunch of AI videos and memes, particularly from fans of Tesla, with Elon Musk even replying to one such post on X, saying, “Gonna happen. 😂”
A Long Time Coming
Since the Cybercab reveal, we’ve seen more information about the car trickle out, including it would likely deliver around 300 miles (482 km) of range, use large castings to save costs, and still projected to cost $30,000 or less. In February, the team even appeared to be ahead of schedule, with the first Cybercab rolling off Tesla’s Texan production line.
Brownlee himself admitted he was a little nervous when it came to light that a new Cybercab event had been scheduled for the 3rd of September. But luckily for him (and his hair), the event had nothing to do with customer sales. Instead, it announced that the Cybercab would be added to the Tesla Robotaxi network within their existing geofenced areas.
But while it looks like his hair is safe for now, the Tech Tuber went on to say that although he thinks Tesla may be ahead of its time with the Cybercab, he expects self-driving cars to become more mainstream in the next 10 years. Oh, and regardless of whether he wins the “bet” or not, he’ll be donating to Cancer Research in January.
Tesla Cybercab
