Tesla ‘Robotaxi’: Elon Musk ‘Confident’ Hybrid, Ride-Sharing Network Venture Will Succeed

Tesla’s future plans for its self-driving cars seem like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Owners of Tesla cars with self-driving capabilities can actually loan out their cars when not in use and simply allow Tesla’s own system to do the job. Kind of like Uber but without the trouble of finding a driver.

This system is known as Tesla “Robotaxi,” and though it sounds outrageous at first, CEO Elon Musk believes that this kind of ride-sharing network could succeed in the very, very near future.

According to Inverse, Musk announced his company’s grand plans for Tesla’s autonomous-driving technology during the most recent investor conference aptly billed, “Autonomy Investor Day.” Tesla’s chief engineer said that the company’s autonomous-driving system could address mobility problems and help Tesla owners earn money from their vehicles.

The system is known as Tesla “Robotaxi” and is targeted to be operation by 2020. Musk targets around 1 million robo taxis to be plying the road by next year.

“I feel very confident in predicting autonomous robots taxis for Tesla next year. Not in all jurisdiction because we don’t have regulatory approval everywhere. But I’m confident we’ll have regulatory approval anywhere somewhere next year. From our standpoint, if you fast-forward a year, maybe a year and three months…we’ll have over a million robo taxis on the road,” Musk said.

The system seems easy enough to set out. Owners simply need to register their vehicles in the Tesla network and input the best time when the cars can serve other riders. Tesla suggests evenings, work hours and other idle times to be the best time to set the timer.

The self-driving system can also be customized so only friends, family or those within the owner’s own social media circle are allowed to “use” the Tesla unit.

The electric vehicle company is expected to take around 25 to 30 percent of the revenue that will be garnered from each ride. The accumulative pay by the end of the month could be enough for owners to pay their car mortgage. Cars that are seen compatible for the Tesla network includes the Models 3, S and X.

And although the system sounds simple enough to be put into action the company is expected to face some regulatory hurdles as well as problems regarding power usage.