Set your watch to Elon-time... which is typically 18 months late. That's critical context for Tesla's big autonomous driving update — Just as other carmakers push back timetables for robotaxis, CEO Elon Musk said this Monday:
- The surprise: “All Teslas produced today have everything necessary for full self-driving — All you need to do is improve the software.“
- The bold claim: He's "very confident" Teslas will be fully self-drivable by next year.
Airbnb your Tesla in an Uber network for Teslas... Here's the vision revealed Monday: Once the Teslas can drive themselves, owners can add their cars to the Tesla Ride-Sharing App. Elon sees it like this:
- Tesla owner doesn't need it for a few hours, so switches to "share mode".
- That Tesla gets summoned by someone who needs a ride.
- Self-driving system handles entire ride (don't forget to rate the robodriver).
- Tesla returns to the parking spot to await its owner.
- The ride fare gets split: Tesla keeps 25%-30%, Tesla owner keeps the rest.
This announcement was sooo Tesla... Shares are down over 30% from their high on weak 1st quarter sales and endless legal/boardroom issues. But Musk wants investors to look past today's drama for tomorrow's moonshot ideas.
- If Tesla can offer customers electric cars that can also earn them money Airbnb-style, that's powerful.
- If Tesla can't, Elon needs another trick/event.
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