Tesla has begun bringing outside companies into its driverless taxi business. On the 3rd (local time), ahead of the Cybercab event to be held in Austin, Texas, Tesla released a form asking businesses whether they would be willing to participate in vehicle purchases, building mobility hubs and infrastructure, collaborating on the event, or providing other support.
The Cybercab is Tesla’s gold-colored autonomous vehicle built exclusively for robotaxi service. The form states that partners can help Tesla build its robotaxi network. It signals an opening to outside operators, but it does not specify whether the vehicles will actually be sold or how the service will be run.
◆ A promise delayed for 10 years… Tesla shifted toward self-operation
CEO Elon Musk’s robotaxi vision dates back to 2016. At that time, he proposed a model in which Tesla owners could lend out their cars as autonomous taxis. At the 2019 “Autonomy Day,” he presented a plan to connect privately owned autonomous vehicles to ride-hailing apps like Uber, and in 2020 he predicted that robotaxis would appear in regulatory-approved regions the following year.
The plan never materialized. Tesla instead shifted to a model in which the company itself directly operates the vehicles, began test runs with the Model Y, and is now deploying the Cybercab. The form seeking outside companies appears to reflect the judgment that self-operation alone has limits in how quickly the service can expand.
◆ Waymo already uses a division of labor… others buy and manage the vehicles
Competitors moved earlier. Robotaxi businesses require not only autonomous-driving software development, but also the purchase of vehicles and the management of washing, charging, maintenance, and dispatch. It is similar to the work done by rental car companies. In the industry, the business of managing multiple vehicles together is called fleet operations.
Movew, an African fintech company, once provided financing for ride-hailing drivers to buy cars. It now operates Waymo vehicles in Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas, and is preparing to expand into London.
Last month, it raised $250 million in investment and was valued at $2.1 billion. Uber also has fleet-management partners such as Avomo and New Horizon, as well as rental companies Avis and Hertz.
The structure is one in which autonomous-driving companies focus on software and safety responsibilities, while capital and on-the-ground operations are shared by financial firms and rental car companies. With outside capital, autonomous-driving companies can expand into more cities without bearing the burden of buying vehicles.
◆ If introduced in Korea, operator roles could create opportunities for rental car and taxi industries
It has not been disclosed whether Tesla will sell Cybercabs externally or what plans it will announce after the Austin event. If sales become a reality, U.S. rental car companies and investors are expected to enter the market as Cybercab operators.
It is difficult for a company with autonomous-driving technology to buy and operate thousands of vehicles on its own. A division-of-labor model in which rental car companies, taxi corporations, and platform businesses take on the role of operators could also become an alternative in Korea. How to organize the passenger transport licensing system and allocate responsibility for accidents is seen as a prerequisite issue.