Tesla CEO Elon Musk surprised attendees at the “We, Robot” event by unveiling a new, unexpected vehicle: a people transporter.
Of course, it was anything but a conventional transporter. The Tesla Robovan – Musk placed the emphasis on the “bo” – looked like something out of an Art Deco fever dream, with a sleek shape like a railway locomotive and no visible wheels. Musk said the vehicle could carry up to 20 people or be used to transport goods.
“The Robovan will be the solution to high density,” he said. “So if you want to take a sports team somewhere or really want to get the cost of travel down to, I don’t know, 5-10 cents a mile, you can use the Robovan.”
The Robovan is intended for the company's Tesla network, an autonomous ride-sharing service for purpose-built self-driving cars as well as Tesla customers' personal vehicles.
Tesla has dropped hints about a van before. In its master plan Part Deux, the company said it was developing “high passenger density urban transport” and also proposed the use of autonomous buses. And earlier this year, Musk showed off an image of a camouflaged, van-shaped vehicle at the company's annual shareholder meeting.