Elon Musk wants Tesla to be autonomous, including driving away without you

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, took the stage at the We, Robot event, held at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, California, to present the company's vision for autonomous vehicles in the future. The company also unveiled the new Cybercab or Robotaxi and the larger Robovan, which are positioned as its shot in the arm to public transportation.

But Tesla isn't only looking to clog up LA traffic by introducing what's been described as an individualised, point to point mass transit. Musk asked on stage: "How many hours per week do cars get used?" Around 10 hours per week out of 168. The vast majority of time, cars do nothing. But if the cars are autonomous, I don't know -- five times more? Maybe 10 times more?"

These comments follow comments made by Musk earlier this year during an earnings report regarding Tesla's venture into an Uberesque ride-hailing application (via The Verge). If you decide to buy a Cybercab (which will cost you $30,000 when it is finally produced in 2026), you can set up your autonomous vehicle so that it takes rides even if you are not using it.

Tesla's Model 3 & Model Y autonomous cars will be able to drive themselves without a driver's supervision in California and Texas by 2026. Musk admitted that this was an "optimistic time frame" on stage.

Musk said at We, Robot, that "we have 50 fully automated cars here tonight." [...] All driverless. You will be able to ride in the Cybercab. "There's no pedals or steering wheel...so, I hope it goes well!"

This was a cute comment, but Tesla is currently facing a number lawsuits alleging that their Autopilot feature in some of their vehicles has caused death or other serious harm.

BBC reported that the company settled a lawsuit in the early part of this year over a fatal 2018 crash when a Model X with Autopilot collided into a highway barrier. The Verge highlights a 2023 incident that was disclosed in a federal NHTSA (pdf warning) report. A student boarding a school bus allegedly was hit by a Tesla Model Y running on Autopilot while at "highway speeds".

Musk said at the We, Robot conference that "Autonomy gives you your time back." This is a big deal. It'll save a lot of people's lives and prevent injuries.

Tesla believes that autonomous cars can anticipate situations that humans would not be able to, as they are fed with a "million lifetimes of experiences." They can see in every direction and don't tire as easily as people.

My burning question is: If a Tesla owner's car is hailed and hits someone, who will Tesla hold responsible in this autonomous future vision? If an incident occurs while your Tesla is on the road without you, how will the owner be notified if it happens? It's obvious, but I don't think an app notification that says "lawsuit inbound" would cover this.