At a time when autonomous vehicles’ popularity seems to be at a low point, Tesla’s Cybercab has garnered more than its fair share of attention. Part of that is because Tesla is such a massive player in the car industry, sure, but the robotaxi’s design is also capable of starting conversations. Now we get to hear about the Cybercab directly from Tesla’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, as he gives a video tour of the vehicle while it is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum. He gives fresh insight into the interesting design, and also drops a couple of breadcrumbs to fuel speculation about what’s to come.
More About The Cybercab Design
Von Holzhausen reiterates some of what we’ve already learned about the Cybercab, like that it’s a two-seater because the vast majority of cab rides are for one or two passengers. He discusses that the windowless rear has room for lots of luggage, but also makes it a great vehicle for food and package deliveries. He discusses how the Cybercab blends design language from Tesla’s other vehicles, including the Cybertruck. He points out how the dihedral doors defy convention and give the car a futuristic feel.
One of the more interesting design tidbits von Holzhausen feeds us relates to that eye-catching gold exterior color. Specifically, he speaks to the inspiration for the color choice. “We chose the color gold — and it’s really a special color — it really reflects kind of a future version of the idea of a New York City yellow cab. And it’s a future idea of that, where we’ve taken that iconic yellow and created something more expressive and more up-to-date.”
“And the gold is just — it feels right,” he added.
Von Holzhausen also talks about the choice for the wheels. The wheel covers were put there to help improve aerodynamics, and they were made the same gold color because “We wanted the wheels to disappear, and actually just become part of the overall design of the car.”
More Vehicles To Come
One thing von Holzhausen said is sure to make some ears perk up, especially for those of us who are used to hearing refusals from automakers to discuss future products. “The car’s really designed around the idea that around 90 to 95 percent of rides are really only carrying one person, maybe two people. So this vehicle isn’t designed to be a kitchen sink and carry everybody. We have other vehicles in our lineup, and future vehicles coming, that will basically take multiple passengers.”
Note that he said “future vehicles,” plural. Tesla has also revealed its Cybervan concept, which von Holzhausen refers to as “the bus” later in the video, which can hold up to 20 people. What else could Tesla be planning? Well, we’ve seen two extremes: 2 passengers and 20. An autonomous vehicle somewhere in between would make sense.
Or maybe this is just a case of looking a little too closely at someone’s choice of words, and we’ve already seen everything that’s planned so far. What do you think is more likely?
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