Tesla's robotaxi reality check
On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge's Andy Hawkins tells us all about the early days of Tesla robotaxis. He talks us through the somewhat stealthy launch, how Tesla's robotaxi plans could grow from here, and why nobody — not even Waymo, which appears to be way ahead — has this race won.
Subscribe: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Pocket Casts | More
After that, The Verge's Allison Johnson joins the show to dive deep on MVNOs. In the United States, the cell market is controlled by a couple of carriers and a lot of lock-in. But it doesn't have to be that way, and a series of technical changes like e-SIMs and MVNOs could change the way we think about our cell service. Sometimes for good… and sometimes not. Who knew Ryan Reynolds could be such a tech innovator?
Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how to free up space on your iPhone. It's a frustrating problem, made worse by Apple's underwhelming tech and absurd pricing, but there are a few ways to make your life a little easier.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Google should 'walk away' from Waymo
Needham & Company senior media and internet analyst Laura Martin joins Market Domination with Josh Lipton to explain why Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) should ditch Waymo and focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI) instead. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. Related videos The £70bn pension tax raid Reeves may not be able to resist 10 shares I wouldn't want to hold in a stock market crash After falling 16% in a day, this stock's on my list of shares to buy in August This FTSE 250 trust is easily beating the global index in 2025. Time to buy? Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is Now a Good Time To Invest in Uber? Here's What Experts Say
Uber Technologies has been one of the best stocks on Wall Street so far in 2025, with shares rising by about 50% year-to-date to far outpace the broader markets. I'm a Financial Advisor: Read Next: The rideshare company's stock hit a record high of $97.71 in early July. Some analysts see the price reaching $120 by year's end — meaning it could be a good time to invest in Uber. Much of the optimism is based on Uber's strong financial results, which include double-digit revenue growth and a continued uptick in bookings. 'A Real Business' One expert with a positive take on Uber is Edward Corona, a Florida-based trader and publisher of The Options Oracle Newsletter. He's targeting a $107 stock price for the rest of the year as long as the company's current positive trends hold. 'Uber is finally acting like a real business — free cash flow is solid, margins are improving, and they've become the default app for way more than just rides,' Corona told GOBankingRates. Although Uber faces a competitive risk from Tesla's robotaxi, Corona calls that a '2026 problem.' For now, Uber's stock chart has 'been in a steady uptrend, and I like it long here,' he added. How To Turn $100K Into a Million: Is Now A Good Time To Buy? Most experts are upbeat about Uber and recommend buying the stock. The vast majority of analysts polled by MarketWatch — 41 out of 57 — have a 'Buy' rating on the stock. The others rate it either 'Overweight' (4 analysts) or 'Hold' (12). As of July 23, the consensus rating is 'Buy' and the average target price is $101.10. A recent analysis from Motley Fool recommended buying Uber shares 'like there's no tomorrow' and cited the following company strengths: Strong revenue growth driven by double-digit increases in gross bookings for mobility and delivery. Competitive advantages from Uber's 'network effect' and ability to leverage 'vast amounts of data.' Although Uber already operates in more than 15,000 cities worldwide, it's still 'not even close' to reaching its full potential. The stock price is still relatively affordable at less than $100 a share. Among the analysts with a particularly bullish take on Uber is Ken Gawrelski of Wells Fargo. As AInvest noted, Gawrelsk recently maintained his 'Overweight' rating on the stock, and raised his price target to $120 from $100. More From GOBankingRates Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck This article originally appeared on Is Now a Good Time To Invest in Uber? Here's What Experts Say Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
The All-New Tesla Model Coming Soon Is Not What You Think
A new Model Y driving in LA (Photo by MEGA/GC Images) So, is there a new, more affordable Tesla in the pipeline? Apparently yes, and it's not what you think. Last week, on a second-quarter Tesla earnings call, the man himself, Elon Musk let the cat out of the bag when he said, 'It's just a Model Y.' Really? What does that mean? Could it mean that it's just a stripped down Model Y? And what about the future of the federal tax credit? Let's face it: Tesla is the only American automaker capable of producing a high-end, realistic, appealing electric vehicle for less than $30,000. And if they have to bring the car back to bare bones to make it sell, then that's what they'll do, apparently. People just don't have enough money to buy Teslas now Musk expanded by saying that, 'The desire to buy our cars is very high. It's just that people don't have enough money in the bank to buy them. That's the issue. So the more affordable we can make the car th Tesla CEO Elon Musk says new car is Model Y. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ... More ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images) Then he revealed how potential buyers can possibly offset the purchase price of their car by 'releasing their car to the fleet and have it earn money for them,' suggesting that people may 'lend' their cars back to Tesla in a type of robotaxi relationship perhaps. Musk then went out on a limb by saying he's confident that 'I think this will happen next year in the U.S. at least.' His comments though raise more questions than provide answers. By saying 'it's just a Model Y,' does he mean a 'new' Y with upgraded parts but based on the old platform, which would help to keep costs down? What we do know is that the more affordable Model Y, as referred to by Musk, should be surfacing in Q4 this year. But that will be long after the $7,500 federal tax credit ends—which will make it even tougher for Tesla to get the price down to the sub-$30,000 level that Musk seems to be alluring to. Let's have a quick look at Tesla's current pricing. Today, the Model Y rear-wheel drive variant costs $44,990, which when you factor in the $7,500, drops the price to $37,490. But with that tax credit gone, and we expect it to disappear very soon under the Trump Administration, the price for a current model Y will hover around $44,000. So for Musk to achieve his goal of achieving a sub-$30,000, he will need to find $15,000 worth of savings in specs and features. The question is—which features to strip back? If it's going to be used as some kind of robotaxi, then it will need all of its AutoPilot features. And given that the Y has been rated as one of the safest on the road by Euro NCAP, ANCAP and IIHS, Tesla would not want to skimp on safety features in any way—which would make it difficult to reduce pricing. But Musk has pushed the boundaries of car tech in the past and redefined the genre, so we will give him some latitude and wait for further updates even if his car sales are hurting all over the planet.
