- Elon Musk’s Tesla is taking steps toward self-driving cars.
- The test drive features a Shiba Inu confidently riding the Cyber Cab.
- Dogecoin and Shiba Inu made some gains after the announcement.
The “We, Robot” event held in Los Angeles, California brought innovations to tech enthusiasts, including the highly anticipated Tesla Cybercab. On Thursday evening, Tesla owner Elon Musk arrived in his new robotaxi to meet the audience.
Musk introduced 20 CyberCaps, a compressed version of Tesla’s iconic Cybertruck. This robot taxi operates solely through artificial intelligence (AI) and has no pedals or steering wheel. The car relies on an AI driver to give directions based on passengers’ commands and has a minimal hardware approach compared to other electric vehicle manufacturers.
As Musk entered the stage waving, excited fans took pictures of the CyberCap he was riding. But what happened next raised additional questions among automotive and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. “Hello @elonmusk, is that a Shiba Inu in the taxi?” We contacted the official X handle for Dogecoin (DOGE).
Why is the Shiba Inu cruising around in Elon’s Cybercab?
A Japanese dog seen riding happily and independently in a CyberCab demonstrated the ability of self-driving cars to provide safe, comfortable and fast transportation. The estimated price for this type of service is approximately 20 cents per mile within LA.
At the Tesla Cybercab unveiling event last Thursday, Musk claimed it would be significantly cheaper than typical public transportation in the United States. Musk, an outspoken fan of the OG meme currency, has already implemented DOGE payments for Tesla products.
The demo Cybercab is likely to pay homage to Dogecoin, even though Musk’s cryptocurrency holdings have not been disclosed. Tesla Inc. is known to be a Bitcoin (BTC) supporter and currently has 9,720 Bitcoins in its reserves.
Following this news, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu embarked on a mini rally, posting gains of 4% and 5.8% respectively in the last 24 hours. DOGE is currently trading at $0.109, a rebound from the weekly low of $0.103 on October 10, 2024.
SHIB is trading at $0.00001756, a gain of 35% on a monthly basis. The appearance of the iconic Shiba Inu on its first test drive of a new driverless taxi seems to have woken up the public interest. According to on-chain data from IntoTheBlock, the largest SHIB holders performed $330.77 million in weekly block trades.
On the flip side
- Tesla (TSLA) stock is down 8% since the Cybercab launch.
- Elon Musk has estimated that retail production of the Cybercab won’t begin before 2026.
Why This Matters
Fully autonomous driving (FSD) is an upcoming innovation that will change the way people get around cities. This move is beneficial for cryptocurrencies, as it is likely that cryptocurrency payments will eventually be implemented for most Tesla products and services.
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