Cars that drive themselves
First, electric cars that won the world over. Then, the hardest goal of all: making them drive themselves. If that works, a car could spend all day working as a robotaxi instead of sitting parked most of the time.
Why does an electric car use so little?
A gasoline engine turns most of its energy into heat: only 12 to 30% ends up moving the wheels. An electric motor is far more direct: 77% or more of the energy from the grid ends up at the wheels. ↗
On top of that, when braking the electric motor runs in reverse, as a generator, and sends energy back to the battery instead of wasting it as heat in the brakes.
A car that understands the street with cameras alone
Tesla’s driving software uses no radar and no lidar: just cameras around the car, like your eyes. A neural network turns those images into a map: where the lanes are, what is a car and what is a person, and where each one is about to move.
Switch cameras off and see what the car stops “seeing”.
Simplified simulation with the 8 cameras of the HW3 generation (three forward cameras at 35°, 50° and 120°, four side cameras and one rear); the side and rear fields of view are approximate, and an object hidden behind another can’t be seen. ↗
Founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning; Musk came in as investor and chairman in 2004. ↗
The best-selling car in the world in 2023, of any kind: the first electric car to do it. In 2024 it came second. ↗
Around the car, covering 360°. Since October 2025, new cars add one in the front bumper. ↗
Since 2021 the software no longer uses radar, and since 2022 no ultrasonic sensors: everything comes from the images. ↗
Connectors at 9,007 stations around the world, as of October 1, 2026. ↗
Of the energy from the grid reaches the wheels; in a gasoline car, 12 to 30%. ↗
Cars that work on their own
Tesla’s bet: that self-driving turns every car into a robotaxi. Here is where each piece stands:
- Driver assistance supervised by a personOperational
- Robotaxis with nobody behind the wheel (Model Y)Operational
- Cybercab: a car with no steering wheel or pedalsFirst in service
- Robotaxi networks in many citiesIn development
Approximate status as of October 2026; things may have moved on. The Robotaxi service runs with no safety monitor on board in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and with a monitor in the San Francisco Bay Area; Cybercabs have given paid rides in Austin since September 3, 2026. ↗