Elon Musk, CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, and the company unveiled new information regarding its long-awaited robotaxi ride-hailing service on Tuesday.
A rider could request a vehicle, adjust the interior temperature, determine the vehicle’s location, and select audio during a pre-launch version of the ride-hailing application that the company unveiled during an earnings presentation for the first quarter on April 23.
The service will allegedly enable passengers to request driverless vehicles through an Uber-like interface.Â
Tesla has long hinted at the imminent proliferation of robotaxis. Elon Musk expressed “extreme confidence” in 2019 that Tesla would begin operating robotaxis by 2020; however, this prediction came to pass.
The program enables Tesla owners to rent out their vehicles for trips, with Tesla deducting a portion of the revenue and the remainder going to the vehicle’s owner; an estimated $30,000 in gross profit per car would be generated annually.
Musk clarified during the most recent earnings call that the program will operate more like a “combination of Airbnb and Uber,” with Tesla operating the primary fleet and the end-user owning several vehicles.
“At their discretion, the end-user may add or remove vehicles from the fleet at any time, and they may restrict usage to family and friends, five-star users, or the general public,” Ms. Musk explained.
“They could have the car returned to them at any time, and it would be theirs exclusively, similar to an Airbnb,” he continued.
Elon Musk proposed that the initial fleet consisted of approximately 7 million vehicles, but he anticipated it could grow to “tens of millions” in the future.
August is the scheduled debut month for Tesla’s “purpose-built” robotaxi, which Elon Musk referred to as “Cybercab” during his most recent earnings call.
