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Tesla’s $25k car and dedicated robotaxi will be Cybertruck-inspired: report
Tesla’s $25,000 car and the company’s dedicated robotaxi past will both feature a design that’s inspired by the Cybertruck. This was, at least, according to Musk biographer Walter Isaacson.
Citing an excerpt from Isaacson’s upcoming book, Axios noted that Musk was so focused on self-driving robotaxis that it took the collective effort of Tesla executives to persuade him to pursue an affordable car as well. As noted by the publication, the CEO only relented when his aides revealed a plan to build both the $25,000 car and Tesla’s robotaxi side by side.
Tesla is aiming to reach 20 million vehicles per year in 2030. To achieve such a goal, the company would need a vehicle that it could build quickly at scale. This means that Tesla needs a car that would far exceed the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover in output. Tesla’s next-generation platform, which was discussed during Investor Day earlier this year, seems designed for this purpose.
As per Isaacson, Musk gathered his top five lieutenants for dinner in Austin for a brainstorming session in November 2021. The agenda for the day was a basic robotaxi that could be produced in high volumes. Musk and his team would reportedly end up debating for almost a year whether they should play it safe and build a car with traditional controls, or opt for a vehicle that’s all-in on autonomy, with no steering wheel or pedals.
Several Tesla engineers reportedly pushed for a more conservative approach. Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, during a meeting on August 18, 2022, even suggested that the robotaxi could be a vehicle with steering wheels and pedals that could be removed later. “If we go down a path of having no steering wheel, and FSD is not ready, we won’t be able to put them on the road,” the Chief Designer said.
Musk, however, was reportedly adamant. “No mirrors, no pedals, no steering wheel. This is me taking responsibility for this decision,” Musk reportedly said. The CEO also highlighted Tesla’s focus on autonomy. “Let me be clear. This vehicle must be designed as a clean robotaxi. We’re going to take that risk. It’s my fault if it f–ks up. But we are not going to design some sort of amphibian frog that’s a halfway car. We are all in on autonomy,” Musk said.
Musk would later relent, however, following a meeting in September 2022. During the meeting, von Holzhausen and several others presented data indicating that a small, “global car” would be needed for Tesla to achieve its ambitious growth targets. The team also convinced the CEO that both the $25,000 car and the robotaxi could be built on the same next-generation platform. Both vehicles could be produced using the same assembly lines as well.
Ultimately, Musk was reportedly convinced of the $25,000 car after von Holzhausen placed models of the $25,000 Tesla and the robotaxi side by side in Tesla’s Design Studio. Both vehicles were unlike other cars on the road today. As per Isaacson, both vehicles had a futuristic design that was inspired by the Tesla Cybertruck. Musk loved the vehicles.
“When one of these comes around a corner, people will think they are seeing something from the future,” Musk said.
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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:
The hazard lights button will be used as an emergency stop. Smart pic.twitter.com/vkYBioqmKm
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) March 10, 2026
We have braille on the interior door releases as well
— Eric (@EricETesla) March 11, 2026
This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.
It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.
The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.
Elon Musk
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.
Musk said:
“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”
Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.
The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.
From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.
However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.
Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.
Elon Musk
Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.
The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.
Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.
Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.
The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.
Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.
Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
