Tesla lead engineer: Cybercab has roughly half the parts of a Model 3

Tesla Cybercab Lead Engineer Eric E. recently shared a number of interesting insights about the upcoming self-driving robotaxi. These include the Cybercab’s two-seat design, its efficiency, and its surprisingly conservative parts count.

As per the Tesla Cybercab Lead Engineer, the Cybercab is a two-seater because the vast majority of miles driven today are with just one or two passengers. Such a strategy makes sense, as Tesla could simply use its other, larger vehicles like the Model Y to accommodate larger groups that require a robotaxi.

“One of the questions we get constantly with this product is why is it two seats? There’s a couple reasons why it’s two seats. One is 82% of miles driven today are with two or fewer passengers. This product is meant to be of extreme efficiency. We worked really hard to deliver that. And the efficiency isn’t just on an energy consumption base. It’s on the concept of cleaning, it’s also on the concept of reliability and service as well,” Eric E. noted.

Some great info by an engineer who is on the Robotaxi team! pic.twitter.com/dNxfmW8tJr

— TesAli (@alifarhat6_ali) December 5, 2024

The Cybercab Lead Engineer also explained that Tesla’s focus on the robotaxi’s efficiency also means that the self-driving vehicle will be produced with few parts. As per Eric E., the Cybercab has roughly half the parts of a Model 3 sedan. This is quite remarkable as the Model 3 is already one of the most efficiently designed vehicles on the road today. 

“Two seats unlocks a lot of opportunity aerodynamically. It also means we cut the part count of Cybercab down by a substantial margin. We’re gonna be delivering a car that has roughly half the parts of Model 3 today. It also means when you need to clean the car as a rideshare asset, you really don’t have to worry about navigating multiple doors, multiple seats. You really just have what looks like a bench seat, easy to clean automatically,” the Tesla engineer noted. 

Eric E. shared other important tidbits about the Cybercab’s design, such as its trunk, which is incredibly large despite the roboatxi’s small size. The Cybercab’s trunk is able to fit everything from multiple golf bags to two full-size carry-ons and two full-size checked bags at once. It is also designed to fit some bicycles depending on their size, as well as a foldable wheelchair.

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