London's 'Singing Cabbie' gives his verdict on Elon Musk's rival Robotaxi

Billionaire Elon Musk has unveiled Tesla’s self-driving robotaxi - but it has already turned up late.

The ’s richest man claimed the electric car giant’s autonomous vehicle could hit the roads some time “before 2027”. But sceptics questioned the timescale, with the project having suffered delays. However, it comes amid a drive for more self-driving vehicles which, it is claimed, can reduce accidents.

Mr Musk, boss of Tesla, claimed its sleek, futuristic two-seater Cybercab would be available for less than £23,000. “You can think of it like individualised mass transit,” he said, unveiling the cab at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California, along with the prototype for a “Robovan” which can ferry up to 20 passengers around at a time.

Regulators will also need to approve the before they can carry passengers here, but robotaxis are already operating on some US roads. Mr Musk and Tesla are going head-to-head with Waymo, owned by parent company Alphabet.

The prospect of autonomous taxis in Britain’s raises questions over the future of human cab drivers.

Aiden Kent, London’s famous , isn’t getting worried just yet. He told the : “It’s going to come, whether that’s in 10, 20, 100 years. No-one knows, but not in the immediate future. There is a lot of water to be crossed.

“The human brain is such a fantastic computer, so nothing can replace the human brain. In this job your brain is constantly going, working out the traffic, thinking of ways to go.

“People say, ‘you’ve got sat-nav’, but you’re in Piccadilly and you want to do a three-point turn to go west, your brain goes ‘ok, swing the cab round’, especially with turning circle we have, and then you’re off. It only comes with the knowledge and the skills of the roads.

“You’re also not going to find out what’s happening in the world. Plus, they can’t sing like me!” Mr Kent also highlighted the social side of talking to a drivers, as well as safety issues.

Samitha Samaranayake, an associate professor in engineering at Cornell University, agreed: “It is a big chunk of metal driving on roads at high speeds, so safety concerns are big.”

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at City firm AJ Bell, also questioned the timescale for the launch. He said: “The company has form in hyping up things and then pushing back launch dates, meaning investors might only get excited once there is solid proof the new vehicle is about to hit the road.”

Matt Britzman, senior equity research analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The Robotaxi itself was expected, set to launch before 2027, but investors were also treated to a 20-seater Robovan and a close-up of Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, which looks further along than many had thought.

“Put together, and Elon’s vision for the future of Tesla has never been clearer. But there’s still a giant chasm between that future and where the company sits today.”

Mr Musk also unveiled Tesla'a Optimus robot, to help your the house with chores. It prompted some to worryingly compare it to that from the movie I, Robot.