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The design of the Robovan is certainly quite out-there, but given Tesla’s history with out-there concepts, it might actually come to fruition in a state somewhat like this.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a change in ground clearance. It seems doubtful that the perhaps ~1-2 inch ground clearance on the demo vehicle will be particularly useful on city roads…
Yeah, I immediately noticed the ground clearance issue as well.
If designed well (doubtful) it could replace a bus similar to this one:
The robot slug looks larger and less maneuverable for a similar 20 person capacity, with no bike racks.
The article itself has to hand wave these points, especially all the pics showing only 14 seats.
A publicly accessible cargo area that I can't see from inside is also a stupid idea. People could just steal your bags, or throw them out. And there's no room for something like a bike, a wheelchair or a stroller.
Maybe it has standing room like many buses?
The model that gets to the street(if ever) will look significantly more like this one. Though i believe they'll keep the built in cow catcher to deflect cyclists and children.
Our city just got federal funding to buy electric city busses. Those hold up to 50 people and don't look like a child's idea of a future car, and probably also don't spontaneously combust and kill all their passengers.
Bus manufacturers know their shit and what the actual needs for such vehicles are and that is ultimately what they design them around. Not to look like some futuristic movie prop.
They're pretty nice and quiet though the suspension is rough on some models
Tesla: let's slap some wheels on a bullet train