Tesla Cybercab Is Super Efficient — Questions & Hurdles Remain
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The Tesla Cybercab has achieved a stunning efficiency rating. At 165 Wh/mile efficiency, it has an estimated running cost of 2.6¢/mile. The hyper-efficient Lucid Air Pure, for comparison, has a 230 Wh/mile efficiency.
Yes, the Cybercab is going to blow the efficiency of other EVs out of the water, even if EVs overall are already tremendously efficient.
However, how it achieved that efficiency is not exactly a secret. It doesn’t have a steering wheel, doesn’t have other driver controls like pedals, and only seats two people. It doesn’t have a ton of cargo space either. So, it’s a quite small vehicle that has cut a lot of normal weight out of the car, and was also designed to be sleek and aerodynamic.
That said, in order to make use of that efficiency — in order to be of use at all without a steering wheel, pedals, etc. — Tesla needs to make “Full Self Driving” good enough and safe enough to deploy Cybercabs without human-driver controls. The efficiency rating is great, but only if the car can be used.
Naturally, many Tesla fans assume the Cybercab could be deployed and used en masse tomorrow. Critics presume it will never be deployed due to lack of adequate self-driving hardware and capability. Where are you on those points or the spectrum between them?
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