Tesla plans to launch its own ride-sharing app before achieving full autonomy, and the drivers will be covered under the automaker’s own driver insurance. Expand Expanding Close
In a series of tweets today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about future plans for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capability. Notably, three weeks from now on November 1, Tesla will go through with a planned price increase for Full Self Driving software, increasing the price by $1,000.
The software currently costs $6,000 as an option on any Tesla vehicle. This cost will rise to $7,000 at the end of this month.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been talking a lot about Tesla Network lately, part of Tesla’s “Master Plan, Part Deux” which will enable Tesla cars with full self-driving hardware to operate as autonomous robotaxis to generate revenue for owners and for Tesla itself.
This is all still a ways off, but that hasn’t stopped Musk and others from theorizing about what might happen when the technological problems behind self-driving are solved. Recently, Musk stated that any Tesla bought today is an “appreciating asset” due to its potential to be used to generate revenue in the future. But an asset wouldn’t really appreciate unless a new, similar asset couldn’t be bought at the same price. So now, Musk has committed to making that happen, stating that once robotaxis become possible, Tesla will likely stop selling cars to consumers, at least at anywhere near the same price.
One of Tesla’s future plans is to roll out a network of self-driving “robotaxis,” dubbed “Tesla Network.” In today’s Tesla shareholder meeting, CEO Elon Musk fielded a question from a shareholder about the possibility of having a human-driven rideshare fleet prior to the rollout of Tesla Network.
This would be similar to Uber/Lyft or other rideshare services, but driven through an owner’s own Tesla app which they already have installed.
Musk seemed responsive to the idea, stating that while the end goal is to have autonomous ridesharing, this might be a good stopgap prior to Tesla gaining regulatory approval for their robotaxi fleets.
As part of Tesla’s presentations about their progress toward full self-driving, the automaker unveiled its ‘Robotaxi’ plan for a self-driving ride-sharing network with its electric cars to be activated as soon as next year with an over-the-air software update. Expand Expanding Close
As Tesla moves towards more autonomous features on its vehicles, it has also been teasing a long-term goal of providing owners the opportunity to provide Uber/Lyft-like rides with their vehicles, letting owners make money in their off-time.
The system has been dubbed “Tesla Network” and last night, CEO Elon Musk announced that we’re going to hear more about it later this month.
During the conference call for Tesla’s third quarter financial results, CEO Elon Musk made some interesting comments about ‘Tesla Network’, the automaker’s upcoming self-driving ride-hailing service.
Musk says that Tesla will have “the strongest competitive position long-term” thanks to its Autopilot neural net leading to fully self-driving capability. Expand Expanding Close
‘Tesla Network’, the automaker’s upcoming ride-sharing platform, is one of the most anticipated new services that Tesla plans to offer. It’s expected to be released with Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ update on second generation Autopilot cars.
CEO Elon Musk recently elaborated on his vision for Tesla’s autonomous ride-sharing future, which is likely to have a significant impact on its business. Expand Expanding Close
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) in Florida decided to lease 4 Tesla Model X SUVs to create an electric ride-sharing service.
They recently took delivery of the vehicles (pictured above), which they managed to acquire through private donations from local businesses in the University of South Florida (USF) area – where the service will be offered.
Reports came out today that Tesla is partnering with a transit agency in Florida, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), to “create a ride-hailing service for transit users.” While it looks like Tesla vehicles will be used for a local ride-hailing service, we are told it has nothing to do with the anticipated ‘Tesla Network’. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla CEO Elon Musk briefly commented on the recently confirmed ‘Tesla Network’, Tesla’s upcoming network of self-driving cars as a ridesharing service, during a conference call with analysts following the disclosure of Tesla’s third quarter financial results.
Musk confirmed that Tesla plans to share most of the revenue from the ‘Tesla Network’ with the Tesla owners who will send their self-driving cars on the network to complete rides for customers. Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this summer, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed rumors that Tesla is working on a fully-autonomous ride-sharing/taxi service to compete with Uber and Lyft. He described the concept in his ‘Master Plan Part Deux’:
“You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you’re at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost.”
With today’s introduction of “enhanced autopilot” features and fully self-driving hardware in all cars, Tesla released more information about the service which it is apparently calling ‘Tesla Network’. Expand Expanding Close
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