Featured Image Credit: Marques Brownlee / YouTube
A popular tech YouTuber has vowed to 'shave his head' if the Tesla robotaxi arrives before 2027.
Popular YouTuber Marcus Brownlee posted a video on his YouTube channel discussing his thoughts on the anticipated Tesla robotaxi, adding that he wasn't buying into Elon Musk's ambitious timelines.
The last we heard about the autonomous vehicle was in October 2024 at the 'We, Robot' event when billionaire Musk showed off Tesla’s Cybercab and Robovan.
The Tesla CEO rolled up to the stage in what he claimed was a 'fully autonomous' vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals.
Advert
Musk was quite reserved about the details and offered no picture as to where Tesla plans to produce the cars.
One of the key takeaways announced at the event was that Tesla hopes to have the Cybercab ready for production before 2027 and priced under $30,000.
However, the event wasn't a hit with investors and Tesla's stock ended up taking a dip when the markets opened the next day.
“The biggest red flag to me is the timeline,” Brownlee said in his video following the event.
Quoting Musk’s claim of a $30,000 robotaxi by 2027, he remarked: "No, they're not. There's just no way they're actually gonna be able to do that."
Referring to the timeline as 'notorious Elon stuff,' he added: "I mean, if they do, let's say they do, I will shave my head on camera cause I'm that confident they won't do it."
Despite wanting to be 'optimistic' about the whole release, Brownlee admitted that 'there's too much stacked up against it.'
The YouTuber pointed out that launching a vehicle without a steering wheel would face a lot of regulatory challenges, making it highly unlikely to happen within a two-year timeline.
On top of that, he pointed out the difficulty of keeping costs down during inflation and delivering a futuristic vehicle with 'scissor doors' in such a short timeframe, he put: “There’s just no way.”
Back in 2019 when the Cybertruck was first announced, the SpaceX founder originally promised a starting price of $39,000.
However, the cheapest Cybertruck today costs $95,000, according to Brownlee.
Nonetheless, Brownlee's viewers feel the bet itself is a bit underwhelming.
"That's the most un-wild promise ever," one user wrote on a Reddit discussion thread linking to the video.
"Safest bet taken in history," another added.
"Tesla loves announcing, they don’t like releasing though.." someone else chimed in.
"His hair is safe," one viewer agreed with Brownlee's scepticism.
