What we know about Tesla’s new Robovan so far

This isn’t the first time Musk has talked about making a van before.

Musk published a blog post titled “Master Plan, Part Deux” in July 2016, in which he said that the EV industry needed to go beyond producing sedans and SUVs.

“In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport,” Musk wrote then.

“Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year,” he added.

In a follow-up post that was published in April 2023, titled “Master Plan Part 3,” Tesla again teased the prospect of making a van.

Specifically, the plan included a table of vehicle types along with their Tesla-made equivalents. Notably, the term “TBD” was listed for two categories — “Commercial/Passenger Vans” and “Bus.”

To be sure, Musk isn’t the only one looking to cash in on mass autonomous transport.

In 2021, a Chinese autonomous driving company named WeRide unveiled its own self-driving cargo van, also called the “Robovan.”

“It’s an autonomous driving vehicle. If you put a seat there it can serve as a robotaxi car. If you put a cabinet there it is really a logistics car,” WeRide CEO and founder Tony Han told CNBC in 2021.

In May, WeRide said it had obtained a license to conduct road tests for the vehicle in Guangzhou, China.