At the third-quarter earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company has offered online car-hailing services to employees in the Bay Area. Although the service is currently limited to employees, it marks a substantial progress for Tesla in the field of autonomous taxi. This strategy may stem from various considerations.

Why does Musk limit online car-hailing to employees first? Is it because other places do not allow FSD and Tesla's autonomous driving? Or is it that Musk starts small, creating a small-scale trial area? Electric cars believe that this trial method allows Tesla to test the maturity and stability of its autonomous driving technology in a relatively closed and controllable environment.

By collecting feedback and actual operational data from employees, Tesla can further optimize its autonomous driving system. Additionally, Tesla's previous press conferences and robotaxi test areas were held in a film shooting location, which is suitable for small-scale and relatively uncomplicated roads for robotaxi demonstrations.

Furthermore, Tesla's strategy may also be due to considerations of current regulatory restrictions. Although Tesla's FSD technology has been extensively tested globally, regulatory policies for autonomous vehicles vary across regions, particularly in Europe and China, where stricter regulations require obtaining corresponding licenses and approvals.

Image from Tesla Official

So this is why Tesla chose to launch its service in Texas first, as the state does not require autonomous driving test licenses. Tesla also plans to offer the service in California but requires additional licenses, which have not been obtained yet. Musk stated that Tesla is also considering "other states" where it may offer the service in the future and mentioned plans to provide autonomous taxi services to the public in 2025.

According to the latest news, Tesla has not yet obtained a comprehensive test license for autonomous vehicles in California, so it cannot conduct actual autonomous vehicle tests or put autonomous driving technology into actual operation. Currently, Tesla's license only authorizes it to conduct relevant tests with a safety driver present to supervise.

The ideal is beautiful, but the popularization of robotaxis is challenging. Firstly, from a technical perspective, despite continuous advancements in autonomous driving technology, achieving fully autonomous robotaxis still requires solving long-tail problems, such as uncommon special situations like sudden severe weather, which provide minimal data for scenario training. This can lead to a wait of up to ten years for sufficient data. Even the legendary FSD has yet to enter China, making the road to robotaxis even longer.

Moreover, autonomous taxis like Luobo Kuaipao are rapidly spreading in China, not only accumulating massive road test data but also providing actual autonomous travel services to users. Luobo Kuaipao's operational model, technical maturity, and cost control are relatively mature. Once commercialization is unleashed, its progress in occupying the market is likely to be faster than Tesla's.

Therefore, the popularization of Tesla's robotaxis is not as easy as Musk claims. It not only requires technical maturity and regulatory improvements but also needs to enhance market acceptance and support feasible business models. In summary, the revolution has yet to succeed, and comrades must continue to strive.

Source: Leitech