Tesla unveils Robovan, a 20-seat autonomous passenger/cargo van
Tesla held its Robotaxi event tonight to introduce a whole new vehicle that will function exclusively as a driverless vehicle. But in addition to the Robotaxi, it also unveiled another robo-vehicle – an autonomous van that can be used for either 20-person mass transit or for cargo hauling tasks.
The “We, Robot” event was primarily expected to focus on the upcoming 2-seat Robotaxi, with an expected update on Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot.
We got updates on both of those, with Robotaxis shuttling passengers around the Warner Bros. backlot where the event was held, and Optimus robots serving drinks and handing out goodie bags to attendees.
But another rumor was about a potential “Robovan.” We talked about this briefly before the event in our Electrek watch party, and there have been various rumors for years, with Tesla supposedly making a 12-passenger van for Boring Co. tunnels and seeing a leak of a peoplemover prototype in recent years.
And today we saw the first glimpse of what the final version might feel like, as it pulled up and emptied several occupants during the event.
We didn’t get much information about the van, except that it will be capable of carrying 20 people (though the above photos show only 14 seats), or also be capable of carrying cargo. The configuration we saw was the people-carrying version, and Tesla has put up several photos on its website to see what the interior of the van might look like.
These are just the passenger configuration – we don’t have any photos of the cargo configuration yet. Although the passenger configuration looks to have significant cargo space available (this could certainly be useful for something like an airport shuttle).
Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the Robotaxi would be able to get the cost of transport down to around 20 cents a mile, but that the Robovan would take that even further, down to 5-10 cents a mile.
A vehicle like this could be useful for shuttle routes that need frequent pickups (like airport or student shuttles), for municipalities that don’t have enough ridership for a normal 80-passenger bus, and of course for city last-mile delivery in a cargo configuration.
Musk also repeated his line that “the future should look like the future,” which is certainly apparent in the design of the Robovan, which looks kind of familiar…
The design of the Robovan is certainly quite out-there, but given Tesla’s history with out-there concepts, it might actually come to fruition in a state somewhat like this.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a change in ground clearance. It seems doubtful that the perhaps ~1-2 inch ground clearance on the demo vehicle will be particularly useful on city roads….
Unlike the Robotaxi, Tesla did not share a launch date for the Robovan. While Musk said the Robotaxi would be available in the next two years, he gave no date for the Robovan.
Electrek’s Take
One thing that the Robotaxi has been criticized for is its number of seats. While 2 seats is enough for a lot of driving tasks, you’re not going to be able to bring a whole family, or a bunch of friends, etc.
And adding a bunch of 2-seat cars to the road does nothing to reduce congestion, because we’ll still end up with about the same average vehicle occupancy as we have right now – or maybe even less occupancy because you wouldn’t have the occasional 3-5 person vehicle. Which could even mean more congestion.
But the Robovan offers the promise of being able to carry an actual significant number of people, and with its larger capacity, deadhead miles might be reduced as well because it could run hop-on hop-off routes.
I could certainly see this running on any number of smaller shuttle routes that would benefit from frequent pickups. There’s a summer shuttle where I grew up in California which just runs people to and from the beach to help alleviate parking issues, and this would be perfect for that. Or how about the new electric shuttles at Zion National Park.
But like every Tesla promise, this one needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
After all, Tesla plans to change the world in 6 huge ways next year already (Robotaxi, Semi, an affordable EV, next-gen Roadster, unsupervised FSD, and Optimus), and now we have yet another unreleased product to add to that pile. And most of those existing ones have been pushed back multiple times. I guess at least Robovan can’t be pushed back, if it doesn’t have a date yet to begin with.
Tesla also showed a vision of the future it wants tonight, with parks taking the place of parking lots in various urban settings.
Which is all well and good, except that the CEO who presented this vision has recently donated $180 million to a candidate who wants to harm EVs, and who just today said he is “concerned” about autonomous vehicles and would ban some of them from the road if he wins. Odd horse to hitch yourself to, really.
As for the Robovan, we only saw it pull up and park, it didn’t shuttle people around during the night, beyond the initial pul up. The Robotaxi was at least driving people around, albeit in a heavily mapped area at low speeds, rather than in a real world situation with all the unexpected nonsense that comes up.
Funny thing though, I actually think the Robovan might be more possible than Robotaxi from an autonomy perspective, because these sorts of vehicles are more likely to run a set route, and thus can have a more limited operational space which is easier to program for. So it almost seems like it could/should come sooner than Robotaxi, which will need to essentially be SAE level 5 capable (whereas a set route would definitionally be level 4).
And if it does happen (again, big grains of salt here), the more mass-transit-focused nature of this is more exciting to me than Robotaxi. We have to cut congestion and sprawl, so having vehicles that can help to enable this is quite important. For certain cities, where subways or light rail are unfeasible for whatever reason, a mid-size electric shuttle like this could be a fantastic way to clean up the roads.
Now, let’s see if it ever happens…..
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![Tesla can't buy land in Australia because CEO Elon Musk is so '[redacted]'](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/05/Elon-Musk-wrecking-ball.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Tesla is trying to use a piece of property in Australia, near Adelaide, in order to build a battery factory and Tesla showroom. But it’s facing steep opposition from locals, most of whom cite dissatisfaction with Tesla CEO Elon Musk as their reason to oppose the project.
The plans center on Marion, a small city of population 4,101, a suburb of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.
Last month, a developer submitted plans to use a piece of land referred to as Chestnut Court Reserve, which has been inaccessible to the public since 2016 due to contamination concerns. Plans to develop the location would involve a requirement to clean up the contamination on the site.
They would also involve the cutting of several trees on the site, some of which have been deemed as “dead or ill health,” with a plan to plant trees at another site to make up for any removals.
The developer said it would use this land to build a new fit-for-purpose factory facility that would be used by Tesla both as a showroom and service center for Tesla vehicles, and also a facility that could be used for “repurposing of Tesla batteries.”
The plan doesn’t go too deep into the specifics of how said repurposing would happen, but it could involve using Tesla vehicle batteries in Powerwalls, or in Tesla’s Powerpack grid storage projects, which are quite popular in South Australia, where they have helped to solve some of the region’s significant power stability problems.
The developer makes the case that Tesla already has a presence in the area in neighboring Tonsley, that Tesla’s mission (and the specific mission of a battery recycling center) supports the environmental goals of the community, and that the facility would create around 100 full-time jobs in the local community, including highly skilled jobs like battery researchers.
All in all, the developer thinks it would inject $56 million into the local community, quite a nice chunk of change for the small town.
And the city council also supports the plan, thinking that the job and economic benefits are worth it, particularly given that the land is not being used for anything else.
The plans were submitted, the residents were consulted, and now that all the chips are on the table… the residents aren’t having it.
Residents respond with a lot of language we shouldn’t say here
The local community gave significant pushback to this idea, with some ~95% of residents disapproving the plan. The city received 948 comments on the plan, which sounds like quite a lot for a city of 4,101 people. However, half of those comments came from outside the city’s area.
But among those comments from the immediate area of the development, only 11 comments favored the plans, with 121 opposing them (that’s 92% opposition).
Among the comments (quoted by The Guardian) come these gems, which wonderfully showcase the stereotypical Australian predilection for colorful language:
- “Because Elon Musk is a [redacted] human being and a [redacted]!”
- “Elon Musk and Tesla are a [redacted] on humanity”
- “Elon Musk is a full blown [redacted]”
- “Destroying trees to build a factory for a company owned by a [redacted] would be a vile choice”
- “We should not support and put money in the pockets of a [redacted] who openly [redacted] salutes, is [redacted] human”
We’ll let you try to fill in some of those words, though we’re pretty sure what some of them are (and, honestly, while I somewhat understand the point of redacting profanity in public records, I’d say it is a little absurd to redact “nazi”).
The plans haven’t received their final vote yet, and the council still seems like it wants to convince the local community to go forward with them. But some residents suggest that the site could be better used by other companies, and that alternate uses could help to preserve that land and also avoid potential image concerns for the area as protests against Tesla continue globally.
Some other comments, perhaps wrongly, called the possible building “a noisy, ugly, planet-destroying temple to billionaires.”
While it’s disappointing to see a proposed recycling facility referred to thusly (although Tesla does have a questionable history when it comes to following local environmental rules), it’s just another sign of how Tesla CEO Elon Musk is drastically affecting the brand, and holding it back from its stated mission to advance sustainable transport.
Response shows once again that Musk is harming Tesla
The responses show just how damaging Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been to the company with his recent public advocacy, which has included performing back-to-back unambiguous Nazi salutes in front of a large crowd, agreeing with a defense of Hitler’s actions in the Holocaust, and many other white supremacist statements.
His advocacy hasn’t been limited just to the United States, where he is currently working to balloon the US deficit and is the largest funder of the republican party who are trying to tax EVs and send US jobs to China. He’s also meddled in other countries’ politics, including support for German neo-Nazis.
These actions have driven protests against the company, embarrassed owners and pushed many customers away, and even resulted in a hack that doxxed many Tesla owners.
The backlash, like Musk’s advocacy, has been global. Tesla sales are dropping in most regions, even as EV sales rise as a whole. Specifically in Australia, Tesla sales saw a big drop year-over-year. And this has applied to corporate customers too, with Tesla losing corporate sales as multiple companies have cited their distaste with the CEO.
While Musk has tried to brush these falling sales numbers off, it’s clear that he personally is doing incredible brand damage to the company.
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For years, Tesla has been the go-to EV recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first electric cars, but Elon Musk’s political antics are causing people to shop elsewhere. On today’s episode of Quick Charge, we’ll discuss some options … and how you might be able to pay for them!
Speaking of Tesla alternatives, the Ford F-150 Lightning is the electric truck sales king once again, while the E-Transit van is now selling for the same (or less) than the gas version and Ford Pro launches a new incentive consulting service to help you pay for them.
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The world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) maker is rapidly expanding overseas. After taking control of vehicle sales in Germany last year, BYD is about to do the same in another key overseas EV market.
BYD to take control of EV distribution in Australia
Last August, BYD reached an agreement with Heden Mobility Group to acquire Heden Electric, which was responsible for importing its vehicles and spare parts for sale in Germany.
The move gives BYD more control over pricing and other areas of distribution as it expands the brand overseas. By taking over control, the company can sell its vehicles directly to buyers. And, it can also set prices.
According to EVDirect, BYD’s official distributor in Australia, the company is preparing for a similar move in the region. Luke Todd, founder and chairman of EVDirect, said the takeover would help unlock BYD’s potential in Australia.
Todd said the first phase was proving that the “BYD brand would thrive here,” and the next phase will make EV ownership “easier and more accessible than ever.”
Since launching its first vehicle, the Atto 3 SUV, in 2022, BYD has become one of the fastest-growing car brands in Australia.
BYD now offers a complete lineup of six vehicles, ranging from the low-cost Dolphin and Atto 3 to mid-size SUVs (Sealion 6 and 7), electric sedans (Seal), and even a pickup (Shark 6).
Earlier this year, the company introduced a new entry-level “Essentials” trim, slashing prices across its entire lineup.
According to TheDriven, BYD has three of the top 10 best-selling electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia as of April. The Sealion 7, launched in just February, placed fifth with 1,473 units sold, trailing the Tesla Model Y (3,394), Model 3 (2,266), MG4 (1,698), and Kia EV5 (1,509).
BYD’s Atto 3 took sixth (956) while the Seal (637) and Dolphin (431) placed ninth and 14th through the first four months of 2025, respectively.
Taking control of distribution is expected to help improve service for current BYD drivers and will likely boost EV adoption in Australia.
Electrek’s Take
BYD’s sales are surging in China and overseas. In April, BYD sold more electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe than Tesla for the first time. Now, it’s launching its best-selling and most affordable electric car, the Dolphin Surf (also known as the Seagull EV in China).
S&P Global Mobility is calling for BYD to more than double its sales in Europe this year to around 186,000 units.
And clearly it’s not just Europe. BYD is quickly establishing its presence in major overseas markets, including Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and many others.
With local production coming online and new, custom-tailored vehicles launching, BYD is laying the groundwork to continue gaining global market share over the next few years as the industry shifts toward electric vehicles. And that’s not even scratching the surface, with BYD’s new battery and ultra-fast EV charging technology set to change the game.
Source: EVDirect, TheDriven
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