Musk set out a vision for a fleet of networked, self-driving taxis that Tesla car owners may also contribute and profit from by allowing their fully-autonomous cars to be used as ‘robotaxis’ for a fee when not in use personally.

During Tesla’s Autonomy Investor Day on 22 April, the company CEO Elon Musk set out a new and more aggressive timeline for the company’s so-called ‘level 5’ autonomous driving car capability scale – cars that are so intelligent they can drive themselves anywhere, without any human assistance.

The event and associated presentations were streamed live, and attracted much attention from the media, thanks to a spoiler Tweet Musk posted ahead of the event, which said: “On 22 April, Investor Autonomy Day, Tesla will free investors from the tyranny of having to drive their own car.”

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Tesla self-driving future

During his presentation, the entrepreneur gave more details saying investors would start seeing fully autonomous cars on the road from next year, 2020.

But there was more.

Musk also set out a vision for a fleet of networked, self-driving taxis that Tesla car owners may also contribute and profit from by allowing their fully-autonomous cars to be used as ‘robotaxis’ for a fee when not in use personally.

Musk described this programme as an online marketplace model comparable to Uber or Airbnb.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

He also claimed that a year from now, Tesla will have a fleet of over a million self-driving ‘robotaxis’ out on US roads, dynamically augmented by personal cars, as and when the owners choose. He estimated that participating in this model would generate up to $30,000 per year for Tesla car owners.

To be sure, the pressure is on for Tesla to crack the Level 5 code for full, and safe, autonomous driving before its key competitors achieve the same. Indeed, much of Musk’s presentation bravado yesterday was about assuring the investor community that its new microchip – codenamed the full driving chip – was designed with the same goal in mind.

Still, Musk has gotten into trouble before for setting, and failing to meet, overly-ambitious product development timelines, and some investors and critics have already voiced scepticism over his latest claim that Tesla cars with Level 5 autonomy will be on the road from next year, particularly in the light of a handful of high-profile recent crashes and the amount of regulation required to govern the new fully self-driving community of robotaxis.