Elon Musk and Tesla each have a lot going on right now. The CEO is still in the process of potentially buying Twitter and the EV automaker is working hard to bring the Cybertruck to market long after it was initially promised. That isn’t stopping Musk from proposing new products and ideas though. This morning he floated the idea of another new Tesla vehicle, a highly-configurable “Robovan”.
It’s certainly not the first time a van-shaped or van-sized vehicle has been tied to the Texas-based company though. All the way back in 2016, Musk unveiled his “Master Plan Part 2” and included the need for a “high passenger-density urban transport” in that breakdown.
In fact, if we go back and dig through the entirety of that second master plan, the high passenger-density urban transport vehicle is the only one Tesla hasn’t unveiled to this point in its history. Other vehicles in that plan include what would become the Tesla Cybertruck and the Tesla Semi which have both been shown off despite not actually being in production just yet.
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Maybe Tesla should make a highly configurable Robovan for people & cargo?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2022
From the looks of it, this vehicle could prove to be a lot more versatile than anything else in the Tesla lineup right now. As Musk points out it could haul cargo, people, or potentially both depending on capacity. Ford and Rivian have both already proven that there’s a market for all-electric vans. Considering that Tesla has the most loyal fanbase in the automotive sphere we’re confident that they’d do well with a van, that is of course if they decide to build one.
It’s also worth questioning just how “robo” this van would really be and whether or not Tesla would bring it to market before Full Self Driving is complete. From what we see in the comment section on Twitter, it sure looks like fans would be happy to do the driving themselves to get their hands on a Tesla van sooner than later.
Musk also mentioned the idea of adding an optional solar power canopy that could triple the total roof area to add additional range. That’s not too dissimilar from the trailer that Tesla quietly unveiled recently. We can’t wait to see if we hear more about this Tesla Van before the year’s end.
Maybe with an optional solar power canopy that extends both sides of the van, tripling roof area
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2022