US closes preliminary investigation into Cruise, how can you hold $UBER and praise $TSLA's FSD at the same time?!, and what happens when you forget your phone in a Waymo
Hey Harry, do you think that many Tesla owners are going to want to put their cars on the network when the "switch" is turned on? In my mind, if I own a Tesla I probably don't need the incremental income especially with the incremental headaches. Not to mention, the times the cars are in highest demand is when I need it myself. I'm a significant Uber shareholder, so I am trying to think through all the different angles... :) Thanks!
I’m still thinking about the Uber vs Tesla scenario but I think you’re partially right. It’s one of those ideas that sounds great on paper but in reality, not so much. Just wait until someone pukes in your Tesla.
But I think there are a few reasons why the Tesla 'switch' may work:
- The cost of Teslas has gone way down and they’re not a luxury car anymore, so you have a lot of every day people buying them who might like to offset their monthly payment with just a night or two of self-driving.
- There are likely a lot of teslas sitting idle during Uber's Fri and Sat night peak demand times. But probably less availability during Mon-Fri rush hour.
- Tesla can fill baseline demand with actual fleet owners or cars of their own (you really don't need flexible supply to handle baseline demand). There are a bunch of Tesla fleets already renting to Uber drivers so it would be easy for them to switch over.
-The cult of Elon is so strong that I think a lot of folks would put their personal Tesla on a robotaxi network just to support the cause.
Related: if Teslas can drive themselves, why not have it be your own personal robotaxi? Then you don't need Uber anymore at all.
Appreciate all the detail in the response. Some good points to think on. Do you see a scenario where you have a Tesla vs. Uber scenario and all the other AV providers consolidate their supply onto Uber and it comes down to a Tesla vs everyone else aggregated onto the Uber platform scenario? Thanks!
Hey Harry, do you think that many Tesla owners are going to want to put their cars on the network when the "switch" is turned on? In my mind, if I own a Tesla I probably don't need the incremental income especially with the incremental headaches. Not to mention, the times the cars are in highest demand is when I need it myself. I'm a significant Uber shareholder, so I am trying to think through all the different angles... :) Thanks!
I’m still thinking about the Uber vs Tesla scenario but I think you’re partially right. It’s one of those ideas that sounds great on paper but in reality, not so much. Just wait until someone pukes in your Tesla.
But I think there are a few reasons why the Tesla 'switch' may work:
- The cost of Teslas has gone way down and they’re not a luxury car anymore, so you have a lot of every day people buying them who might like to offset their monthly payment with just a night or two of self-driving.
- There are likely a lot of teslas sitting idle during Uber's Fri and Sat night peak demand times. But probably less availability during Mon-Fri rush hour.
- Tesla can fill baseline demand with actual fleet owners or cars of their own (you really don't need flexible supply to handle baseline demand). There are a bunch of Tesla fleets already renting to Uber drivers so it would be easy for them to switch over.
-The cult of Elon is so strong that I think a lot of folks would put their personal Tesla on a robotaxi network just to support the cause.
Related: if Teslas can drive themselves, why not have it be your own personal robotaxi? Then you don't need Uber anymore at all.
Appreciate all the detail in the response. Some good points to think on. Do you see a scenario where you have a Tesla vs. Uber scenario and all the other AV providers consolidate their supply onto Uber and it comes down to a Tesla vs everyone else aggregated onto the Uber platform scenario? Thanks!