Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk said he expects the company’s new robotaxis to be produced from 2026.

The announcement came as the X-owner unveiled the design of Tesla’s new autonomous vehicles at Warner Brothers Studio in California on Thursday.

The chief executive made an entrance to the studios wearing a leather jacket in a silver vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals and gull-wing doors which he called the “cybercab.”

During the “We, Robot” showcase event, Musk said he intended to put the robocars on the market for less than $30,000, emphasising how these new vehicles could drastically change the way people perceive driving and owning a vehicle.

“We’ll move from supervised full self-driving to unsupervised full self-driving, where the car…you could fall asleep and wake up at your destination,” he said.

Musk went on to say that robocars could offer income solutions for owners as they would be able to rent them out when they are not using them.

“Your average passenger car is only used about 10 hours a week out of 160 hours. So, the var majority of the time, cars are just doing nothing,” he added. “But if they are autonomous, they could be used, five times more, maybe ten times more.”

During the event, Musk showcased a larger version of the robocab, called the Robovan, which will be able to transport up to 20 people according to the firm.

"The autonomous future is here,” he said. “With autonomy, you get your time back.”

The company’s humanoid Optimus robot, an AI powered robot named after a character from the Transformers franchise, was actively on display during the event, performing dance moves and underlining the company’s commitment to be regarded as a robotics specialist firm.

Despite the success of the event among Tesla fans, some shareholders and investors seem to remain sceptical about the real potential of the project and the ambitious timeframe, with Musk several times describing himself as “overly optimistic”.

"I'm a shareholder and pretty disappointed,” equity trader Dennis Dick at Triple D Trading told Reuters. “I think the market wanted more definitive timelines. I don't think he said much about anything."

Analysts have also shared doubts on technical and production challenges amid regulatory and safety concerns that could further delay the launch of Tesla’s robotaxis.

"It will be extremely difficult for Tesla to offer a new vehicle at that price within that timescale," said Paul Miller, from research Forrester to the BBC.

He added: "Without external subsidies, or Tesla making a loss on every vehicle, it doesn't seem plausible to launch at anything close to that price this decade.”

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