Tesla Wants to Become the Uber of Robotaxis

Earlier this month, Elon Musk gave an update on Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxis – which wasn’t much, save for that the cars will be unveiled by the company on August 8.

Ahead of rolling out the robotaxis, Tesla is previewing a rideshare service where users can hail one of the self-driving vehicles.

The service would be accessible within the Tesla app. Similar to Uber, users would be able to hail a robotaxi to their location and would even be able to adjust the temperature of the vehicle prior to pickup.

Tesla’s Q1 earnings presentation included mockups of the app. On a call accompanying the presentation, Musk referred to the rideshare as “Cyber Cab” and described it as a “combination of Airbnb and Uber.”

“There will be some number of cars that Tesla owns itself and operates, a bunch where they are owned by the end user,” Musk said.

Tesla has been criticized for its self-driving cars and even settled a lawsuit over the technology just a few weeks ago regarding a fatal crash in 2018 where the driver was using Tesla’s autopilot driving mode.

The company also has a pattern of promising launches much sooner than they can feasibly execute them – look at the years-long Cybertruck saga, in which Tesla has now recalled all of its units just a few months after delivering them. It could be a while before you’re actually able to hail a Tesla robotaxi.