Elon Musk foresees "a glorious future" for autonomous transport

Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented not only the Robotaxi self-driving car but also a concept vehicle capable of carrying up to 20 passengers at a glitzy event for the automotive and clean energy company's investors. Painting a rosy picture of increased safety, mobility, and environmental cleanliness as the Robotaxi / Cybercab models are rolled out - which Musk predicted could be happening by 2027 at a unit cost of some US$30,000 - the 53-year-old spoke eloquently and not without some humour of people owning 'flocks' of cars which they could 'shepherd'. He also outlined how humanoid robots (the Tesla one is called Optimus, and Optimua units served drinks and danced at the event) run on the same sets of artificial intelligence (AI) development as the vehicles. Some shades of environmentalists, or those who view the unstoppable surge of AI with a jaundiced eye, will point to the unimaginable demands for water and other natural resources incurred in the process of building ever-increasing numbers of personalised metal boxes, no matter how well manufactured or marketed. And some will simply turn the screen page with a sigh, fumbling for the keys of their gas-guzzling, growling, grumbling, divine, solid, simple old unit of enjoyment formerly known as Car. Your thoughts on Musk's vision as delivered here?

Keywords: Elon Musk Tesla Robotaxi, We Robot, Musk Robovan, autonomous transport, self-driving vehicles, humanoid robots, AI