News
Robocar becomes first autonomous race car to complete Goodwood hill climb
The 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed is off with a bang, with high-profile car manufacturers and cutting-edge vehicles gracing the event. As could be seen in a recently uploaded video online, this year’s Festival of Speed also featured Robocar — an all-electric, fully-autonomous, AI-powered vehicle — successfully completing the event’s traditional hill climb course.
Roborace, the company behind the self-driving racecar, uploaded Robocar’s hill climb run on its official YouTube channel. The vehicle’s run was just a test session during the early morning before the festival officially started, but it did prove that the self-driving car was capable of traversing Goodwood’s 1.16-mile hill climb course independently. This was a milestone for Robocar’s development, considering that the Goodwood hill course presented several challenges to the vehicle’s systems.
Robocar is built from the ground up as an autonomous racecar. Thus, when attempting its run up Goodwood’s hill course, the car had to rely exclusively on data gathered by its array of sensors such as its GPS, radar, LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, and machine vision cameras. Due to the terrain of the hill climb track, however, Robocar’s GPS was compromised, since the course’s narrow roads and trees block the car’s GPS signals, preventing the vehicle to map its position accurately. In order to address this challenge, Roborace developed a specialized code for Robocar just for the event, utilizing the car’s LiDAR sensors for real-time environment perception.

Robocar during its hill climb attempt at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [Credit: Roborace/YouTube]
As could be seen in the company’s recently-uploaded video, it appears that the specialized code it developed for the self-driving racecar was enough to navigate the vehicle to the finish line without any problems.
Roborace hopes to eventually start a racing series with Robocar, with teams being issued identical cars and the competition being determined by how each vehicle is coded. Robocar, after all, is not just robust sensor-wise, it also packs some serious power, with the self-driving car being equipped with four 135 kW electric motors that produce 500 hp, as well as a 58 kWh battery. Within the heart of Robocar are NVIDIA Drive PX 2 processors, as well as an AI system provided by Arrival.
Robocar’s appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was supported by the founder of the event himself, Charles Gordon-Lennox, better known as the Duke of Richmond. According to the Duke, he believes that the participation of a self-driving car such as Robocar in this year’s event is a statement for the future of mobility.
- Roborace’s booth at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [Credit: Dean Scott]
- Roborace’s booth at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [Credit: Dean Scott]
- Roborace’s booth at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [Credit: Dean Scott]
Robocar featured in Roborace’s booth at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. [Credit: Dean Scott]
“I can’t think of a more exciting way to celebrate our Silver Jubilee than to have Roborace attempt the first autonomous race car run up the hill. Roborace plays an important role in the future of mobility, challenging public perceptions and providing a platform to advance new technologies. This makes them the perfect partner to undertake this significant feat,” he said.
The 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed starts on July 12 and ends on July 15. Several of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, including Tesla, are participating in the event. As we noted in a previous report, Tesla’s booth at Goodwood, which features the Model 3 as its centerpiece, is proving to be quite popular with the event’s attendees.
Check out pictures of Tesla’s booth and the Model 3 at the event here.
Watch Robocar’s hill climb run in the video below.
News
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Photos and videos of the production Cybercab were shared in posts on social media platform X.
The Tesla Cybercab is currently on display at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., and observations of the production vehicle are highlighting some of its notable design details.
Photos and videos of the production Cybercab were shared in posts on social media platform X.
Observers of the Cybercab display unit noted that the two-seat Robotaxi provides unusually generous legroom for a vehicle of its size. Based on the vehicle’s video, the compact two-seater appears to offer more legroom than Tesla’s larger vehicles such as the Model Y, Model X, and Cybertruck.
The Cybercab’s layout allows Tesla to dedicate nearly the entire cabin to passengers. The vehicle is designed without a steering wheel or pedals, which helps maximize interior space.
Footage from the display also highlights the Cybercab’s large center screen, which is positioned prominently in front of the passenger bench. The display appears intended to provide entertainment and ride information while the vehicle operates autonomously.
Images of the vehicle also show an additional camera integrated into the Cybercab’s C-pillar. The extra camera appears to expand the vehicle’s field of view, which would be useful as Tesla works toward fully unsupervised Full Self-Driving.
Tesla engineers have previously explained that the Cybercab was designed to be highly efficient both in manufacturing and in operation. Cybercab Lead Engineer Eric E. stated in 2024 that the Robotaxi would be built with roughly half the number of parts used in a Model 3 sedan.
“Two seats unlocks a lot of opportunity aerodynamically. It also means we cut the part count of Cybercab down by a substantial margin. We’re gonna be delivering a car that has roughly half the parts of Model 3 today,” the Tesla engineer said.
The Tesla engineer also noted that the Cybercab’s cargo area can accommodate multiple golf bags, two carry-on suitcases, and two full-size checked bags. The trunk can also fit certain bicycles and a foldable wheelchair depending on size, which is quite impressive for a small car like the Cybercab.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI wins permit for power plant supporting AI data centers
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
Mississippi regulators have approved a permit allowing Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI to construct a natural gas power plant in Southaven. The facility is expected to support the company’s expanding AI infrastructure tied to its Colossus data center operations near Memphis.
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
According to the report, regulators “voted to approve the permit” of xAI subsidiary MZX Tech LLC to construct a power plant featuring 41 natural gas-burning turbines “after careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns.”
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality stated that the permit followed a regulatory review process that included public comments and community input. Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief for the MDEQ, stated that the project met all applicable environmental standards.
“The proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is required by law. MDEQ and the EPA agree that not a single person around our facilities will be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,” Whitlock stated.
The planned facility will help provide electricity for xAI’s AI computing infrastructure in the Memphis region.
The Southaven project forms part of xAI’s efforts to scale computing capacity for its artificial intelligence systems.
The company currently operates two major data centers in Memphis, known as Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, which provide computing power for xAI’s Grok AI models. xAI is also planning to build another large data center in Southaven called Macrohardrr, which would be located in a warehouse previously used by GXO Logistics.
Large-scale AI training requires substantial computing power and electricity, prompting technology companies to develop dedicated energy infrastructure for their data centers.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell previously stated that xAI plans to develop 1.2 gigawatts of power capacity for its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the federal government’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
“As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors. xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Elon Musk
Tesla China teases Optimus robot’s human-looking next-gen hands
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
A new teaser shared by Tesla’s China team appears to show a pair of unusually human-like hands for Optimus.
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
As could be seen in the teaser image, the new version of Optimus’ hands features proportions and finger structures that look strikingly similar to those of a human hand. Their appearance suggests that they might have dexterity approaching that of a human hand.
If the image reflects a new generation of Optimus’ hands, it could indicate Tesla is continuing to refine one of the most critical components of its humanoid robot.
Hands are widely viewed as one of the most difficult engineering challenges in robotics. For Optimus to perform complex real-world work, from manufacturing tasks to household activities, its hands would need to be the best in the industry.
Elon Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as Tesla’s most important long-term product. In posts on social media platform X, Musk has stated that Optimus could eventually become the first real-world Von Neumann machine.
In theory, a Von Neumann machine is a self-replicating system capable of building copies of itself using available materials. The concept was originally proposed by mathematician John von Neumann in the mid-20th century.
“Optimus will be the first Von Neumann machine, capable of building civilization by itself on any viable planet,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
If Optimus is expected to carry out complex work autonomously in the future, high levels of dexterity will likely be essential. This makes the development of advanced robotic hands a key step towards Musk’s long-term expectations for the product.


