By: Leaya Chen

Elon Musk has big plans for Tesla, hoping to turn it into a leader in self-driving taxis. Musk believes this could increase Tesla’s current value of about $740 billion. But, experts are unsure if Tesla can achieve this goal.

Creating successful robotaxis will be challenging. Tesla’s competitors, like Waymo and Cruise, have already faced problems with their self-driving taxi services, leading to doubts about whether this idea is truly profitable or workable.

Tesla must compete with major players such as Waymo, Uber, Lyft, and Amazon’s Zoox. The self-driving car industry is competitive and hasn’t made much money yet. Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, says that the industry is not very profitable.

Although Tesla’s car sales have dropped, Musk is focusing on projects like robotaxis and robots. This shift has led to mixed reactions. Some see it as a sign of Musk’s innovation, while others think it distracts from Tesla’s current issues.

Tesla’s current driver-assistance systems, Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, still require driver intervention and have been linked to several accidents. Tesla uses cameras for these systems.

Other companies have also had problems. For example, General Motors’s Cruise paused its service after an accident, and Waymo, which uses lidar, has struggled with profitability despite heavy investment.
Tesla also plans to let car owners rent their vehicles as robotaxis, similar to Airbnb. But if there are too many cars available, it could lower profits. Managing a fleet of robotaxis will also require significant human effort for cleaning, repairs, and customer service.

While the idea of robotaxis is exciting, there are still many challenges to making it a reality.