Tesla needs robotaxis to be a hit but rivals are picking up fares

Times

4 hours ago

'This image might be in textbooks at some point,' wrote a Tesla super-fan beneath a picture of Elon Musk and his team at the carmaker launching robotaxis in Austin, Texas, at the weekend.
'Kinda just the beginning of post-driving civilisation. Second only to space because it basically rewrites daily life on earth, commuting, cities, car ownership, jobs, time, autonomy. The ripple effects are f***ing civilisational,' they gushed.
Dan Ives, a tech analyst and Tesla evangelist, was equally breathless, saying: 'We view this autonomous chapter as one of the most important for Musk and Tesla in its history as a company' — one that could add $1 trillion to its valuation.
On Monday the share price jumped by 8 per cent as excitement grew at what the launch could mean: Tesla's valuation rests on its potential in robotics and autonomous vehicles rather than the here and now of selling EVs.
It has been a bumpy ride. Issues with Tesla's 'full self-driving' software have included phantom braking and breaking traffic rules. This has forced recalls, triggered official investigations and eroded consumer and investor confidence.
The competition is stiff and better established. Wayve, a British company, is making strides in autonomous driving technology, while in the US and China, Alphabet's Waymo and Baidu's Apollo Go cabs are already on the road.
Waymo launched in San Francisco three years ago and makes 250,000 driverless journeys a week. It has applied for a licence in New York.
Life at Tesla has been tough. Musk's failed bromance with President Trump damaged the brand and slowed sales, while safety checks and recalls for models such as the Cybertruck sapped morale. There have also been mass lay-offs as cheaper electric cars make headway.
Despite the enthusiasm of believers, the Texas launch was not the big bang Musk hoped for. Only a select few were given invitations to try the fleet of 20 cabs in service, which had safety drivers in the passenger seat, hands on knees, poised to step in if needed.
Musk is talking up a rosy future, saying there will be 'hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Teslas doing self-driving in the US' by the end of next year. His argument is that Tesla's advantage lies in its ability to make the cars itself: it has huge production plants, access to real-world driving data and is taking a cheaper camera-only approach rather than using sensors.
Tesla spent $10 billion last year on training, data and artificial intelligence computing for driverless cars. Its fleet feeds billions of real-world miles into its Dojo supercomputer daily. Before the start of 2027, the company aims to start production of a two-person Cybercab, without pedals and steering wheel. It will cost less than $30,000.
Never short on ambition, Musk has another trick up his sleeve. Tech start-ups love to bill themselves as 'the Uber' or 'the Airbnb' of their sector and Musk dropped both names this weekend when he said Tesla owners will be able to make extra money by adding their vehicles to the company's fleet of robotaxis.
Tesla takes a small cut of the fees but they will often be able to earn more than their monthly payment for the car. Tesla will be both the Uber and Airbnb of the autonomous vehicle world.
The question is, will all of this help it to overtake its rivals after so long in the slow lane?
On a recent speed awareness course (24 in a 20 limit, in case you were wondering), the instructor got us to list the emotions that could affect our driving, such as anger, sadness or anxiety.
What is the answer? He wanted to know. 'Driverless cars!' I piped up, to eyerolls from my fellow students. It may be a long way ahead but this is not just about Musk's business. The safety implications of cars driven by emotionless, sober computers are potentially, well, 'civilisational'.