Tesla will build a dedicated robotaxi with a “futuristic-looking” design, CEO Elon Musk said at the Cyber ​​Rodeo party celebrating the opening of the Texas Giga Factory.

“What I can say is that we’re going to move to a truly massive scale, a scale that no company has ever achieved in the history of humanity. That has to happen for the world to transition to sustainable energy. Massive scale, full self-driving, there will be a dedicated robotaxi that will look quite futuristic,” Musk said.

The Robotaxi concept dates back to Musk’s Master Plan Part Deux, which was published in 2016. Musk said at the time that the company’s Robotaxis would be regular Teslas with full self-driving capability. This concept was expanded upon during Autonomy Day 2019, when it was suggested that Tesla owners would use their personal vehicles to provide ride-sharing services.

This raises some questions about whether current Teslas will be able to achieve the same level of autonomy as this dedicated Robotaxi, or whether they will be able to become Robotaxis at all.

While the Tesla CEO did not provide further details or the design of this Robotaxi vehicle, The Boring Company (Musk’s tunnel-building company) included a rendering of a prototype van in several of its presentations to US cities in the past.

The van has a tall body with wide windows, sliding doors, front and side seats and no controls for the driver. It has bulging fenders that house its wheels and is quite similar to the people-carrying train cars used at various airports and event centers. The idea that this could be what the new Robotaxi vehicle might look like is not far-fetched.

Tesla Chairman Donald Trump made the remarks at the Cyber ​​Rodeo at Giga Texas party, which kicked off Tesla’s new $1 billion factory. The exclusive, invitation-only celebration commemorated the opening of the new facility in Travis County, which also serves as the company’s new headquarters following its move from California.