Musk Says Robotaxi and Autonomous Vehicles are Tesla’s Future

Tesla Inc. announced its first quarter earnings for 2024, with the company losing its position as the world’s top EV manufacturer to the Chinese giant BYD in the number of units shipped. The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, touted the company’s artificial intelligence plans for autonomous vehicles. Well, he never forgets his chatbot Grok, as it’s his favorite topic, but this time. 

Musk repeated his vision, which he has already outlined before for Tesla, saying that it will operate millions of electric vehicles autonomously as Robotaxis, which will be a service similar to the online taxi service Uber. 

Autonomous vehicles are the future, says Musk

Musk made it very clear that Tesla is no more just an automotive manufacturer but also an AI firm in his message to investors. During the Q1 (first quarter) earnings call, he said,

“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s is going solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company,”

While his words have a little negativity, which may be due to the falling share prices, Musk tried to show his confidence by adding,

“But we will. And we are.”

Source: Bnnbloomberg.

While we expect a smart man like Musk to eye Airbnb, he said that consumers of Tesla will also have the option to rent out their EVs for rides in a setting similar to the space-sharing platform.

Tesla also confirmed that Robotaxi will be a future project of the company in the material presented to investors. The tech giant will provide more specific and detailed information on this plan in August.

Tesla’s falling stock prices and manufacturing cost reductions

Tesla has also planned to cut down assembly costs by 50% with its new vehicle production system. As the company referred to its Robotaxi product said,

“Our purpose-built Robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy.”

Musk is also looking to expand Tesla’s business model and get more partners on board. He mentioned the self driving capabilities of Tesla cars and indicated that his company is in conversation with another car maker about licensing its Full Self Driving (FSD). 

The point to remember is that their advanced driver-assistance system requires attentive drivers with all ears to have their hands not on a cup of coffee but on the steering wheel.

Musk, at the end of the earnings call, tried to convince investors by indulging them in first hand experience, as he emphasized again that if anyone wants to be a shareholder in Tesla, they should experience the FSD. He said,

“I once again would just likely to strongly recommend that anyone, who is I guess thinking about the Tesla stock, should really drive” FSD’s latest version. It is impossible to understand the company if you do not do this.”

Source: Bnnbloomberg.

Well, Tesla’s not so good year is getting more gloomy as it is cutting down its production at its China plant. The company’s stock is already down by a little more than 31% YTD, as some hiccups over the past few months have eroded the company’s market cap by nearly $250 billion.

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