Billionaire Elon Musk just announced 'Robovan', China had it first

Business Insider reported on October 11 that at the "We, Robot" event on October 10, Mr. Elon Musk introduced to the public the self-driving car Robovan that Tesla (USA) plans to manufacture. The Tesla boss informed that this self-driving electric car can carry up to 20 people, or be used to transport goods.

It is worth noting that the name Robovan that Mr. Musk has chosen for the new vehicle is already being used by a company in China. WeRide, a self-driving car startup in China, launched its self-driving delivery vehicle in 2021 and named it Robovan. WeRide CEO Tony Han said that this vehicle is a cross between a passenger car and a cargo vehicle.

“If you put a chair in there, it works like a robot taxi. If you put a cabinet in there, it becomes a delivery vehicle,” Han told CNBC in 2021.

WeRide said it is partnering with JMC-Ford Motors, a joint venture between Chinese automaker Jiangling Motors Corp and US automaker Ford Motor Company, to produce the Robovan.

In May, WeRide said it had secured a permit to conduct road tests for the vehicle in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. On its website, WeRide said it had received “more than 10,000 orders from a leading express delivery company” for the Robovan.

Also at the event on October 10, Mr. Musk introduced another self-driving electric vehicle, the Cybercab, with an expected price of less than $ 30,000 and expected to be sold on the market before 2027. The "We, Robot" event is also the first time Tesla has introduced a new product, since the company launched the Cybertruck electric vehicle in 2019, according to CNBC.