The Tesla Robovan: A Futuristic Multi-Passenger Vehicle
Eagerly awaiting the arrival of Tesla’s fully autonomous Robotaxi? Don’t keep holding your breath, but if you’re looking for something else to wait for, there is this, the Robovan. Revealed alongside the Robotaxi at a robot-themed Tesla event in Warner Brothers studios in California, the Robovan fills in the gaps left by the two-seater Robotaxi—namely, that a two-seat car, self-driving or not, likely doesn’t work for most people. It overshoots expectations somewhat by seating up to 20 people, but hey, that’s better than two, right?
This Isn’t Real, Right?
Of course, the Robovan is about as “real” as the Robotaxi at this point. Sure, Tesla put 20 (or maybe it was 50? CEO Elon Musk seemed unable to pinpoint an exact number of the self-driving “Cybercabs” either at the event or in existence) Robotaxis into service driving around the movie studio’s sets, but even Musk alluded to the cars—which attendees of the event were invited to ride in—were “set up to feel like a park ride.” We’re going out on a limb here and assuming that means they’re mostly programmed to follow a set path through a highly controlled environment, perhaps only reacting to the attendees as they move through the space.
That is, of course, a much more attainable goal than full autonomy out in the real world, which is filled with unpredictable traffic, weather, and so on. It is basically Waymo’s self-driving service, which operates in limited geographic areas that are extensively mapped ahead of time, scaled down to a very small indoor facility.
So when Elon Musk says Tesla will actually build the Robovan, we believe him, to a point. The question really is more about “when?” Given the Robotaxi’s years of broken promises and delays (the latest claim is that they’ll be on the road in 2026, or at least before 2027), the Robovan is solidly in pipe dream territory.
Still, when or if Tesla ever builds it, it will apparently look just like the futuristic art deco locomotive you see here. There are some interesting details, from the row of overhead glass portals to the finned lighting, but the real action is inside, where there are rows of simple-looking seats that face the center of the van, accessed via a somewhat small-looking sliding side door only on the vehicle’s right side. Big screens live at each end, visible to the occupants opposite.
Tesla sees the van as not only a passenger pickup vehicle but also a potential cargo operator. One rendering depicts a Robovan being used as a Tesla service vehicle, with one of the brand’s Optimus robots changing the tire on a current-day Tesla car on a roadside. Other renderings show the Robovan assuming school bus duties, wedding limousine duties, and more.
What Powers the Robovan, and How Far Can It Go?
No idea. Tesla hasn’t offered any specifics whatsoever regarding the Robovan, other than to say it fits more people than the Robotaxi and will look like… this. We can infer, from the Robotaxi’s tech stack, that this Robovan also would utilize inductive (wireless) charging (a tech which isn’t really viable yet for basic charging duties, let alone fast charging). It has at least one motor, powering at least one axle. We can’t even see the Robovan’s wheels, which are skirted in underneath the bodywork. It could deliver substantial driving range, however, given its footprint, which could fit a humongous under-floor battery. But who knows.
As far as the technology that Tesla claims makes the Robovan’s lack of a steering wheel, pedals, or human driver possible, it’s rather implausible: Cameras and “AI.” Like today’s Teslas and the promised Robotaxi, the Robovan relies solely on cameras looking forward, side to side, and backward for locating other cars and objects, the road, and pedestrians. We’ve gone on and on about how ambitious (or reckless) it is for Tesla to lean fully autonomous driving tech on such a limited sensor array—others trying this same game utilize an overlapping array of radar, lidar, and sonar sensors in addition to cameras to afford more detailed “vision” of surroundings and built-in redundancies should, say, a camera be dirtied by slush or dust or even merely confused by bright sunlight, shortcomings that Teslas today (with allegedly the same hardware bound for the Robotaxi and Robovan) suffer from.
File this under “we’ll believe it when we see it,” because for now, the closest Tesla is to self-driving cars is its deeply flawed and misleadingly named “Full Self Driving” (that lately has been joined by the phrase “fully supervised”) system that, technically, is still in “beta,” or testing, phase. Users can opt into using it (after paying several thousand dollars for the Full Self Driving option on any new Tesla) and guinea-pig-ing it so that Tesla can accrue data to help “teach” its software to be a better driver. Yes, you can go hands-free with FSD, but our experience with it (along with, more recently, a third-party testing organization) suggests you probably shouldn’t. And that’s what could underpin the Robotaxi and Robovan in, allegedly, two years’ time—and possibly sooner, in 2025, in current Model 3s and Model Ys with FSD, at least in certain states (California and Texas, per Tesla), and pending regulatory approval. In other words, there’s so much hype here, you’ll probably need the Robovan to fit it all.
When will the Tesla Robovan go on sale?
Likely never, possibly around 2027.
How Much Will the Robovan Cost?
Tesla says the Robotaxi will cost less than $30,000, suggesting the larger Robovan would cost more.
How many people can the Robovan fit?
Up to 20, but it can also be reconfigured to haul cargo.
