Elon Musk says there's 'no need' for Tesla to buy Uber since Tesla owners could one day join its autonomous fleet
Elon Musk on Tuesday dismissed a hypothetical Tesla-Uber deal, saying there's "no need" for Tesla to buy the ubiquitous rideshare app.
Musk told CNBC that he envisions a world where, instead of calling an Uber, you can call an autonomous Tesla to get you to your destination without a dedicated driver.
"We have millions of cars that will be able to operate autonomously," Musk told CNBC's David Faber. "And I should say that it's a combination of a Tesla-owned fleet and also enabling Tesla owners to be able to add or subtract their car to the fleet, so that existing Tesla owners will be able to earn money by adding their car to the fleet for autonomous use."
Musk's proposed business model would allow Tesla drivers to rent out their cars for autonomous ride-hailing, "just like" one can rent out a spare bedroom through Airbnb.
Representatives for Tesla and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
After years of delays, Tesla plans to debut its much-anticipated robotaxi service in Austin next month, Business Insider previously reported. Musk confirmed the plans in the CNBC interview Tuesday.
"We'll start with probably 10 for a week, then increase it to 20, 30, 40," he said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. "It will probably be at 1,000 within a few months."
Tesla has not yet unveiled the commercial version of its Full Self-Driving software, called FSD Unsupervised. This software will be used in its robotaxi fleet and does not require a driver behind the wheel like its personal vehicles.
When asked by Faber whether Tesla needed to make any improvements or changes to its technology or fleet in order to prepare to launch a large-scale robotaxi service, Musk demurred.
"I don't think we're missing anything," Musk said. "Tesla has all the ingredients necessary to offer a vast self-driving fleet."
Although Uber and Lyft have long bowed out of developing autonomous cars in-house, both companies plan to offer robotaxis on their platforms through partnerships with other self-driving-focused companies.
Uber, for example, already offers Alphabet's Waymo on its app in Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta.
Lyft said it has partnered with companies like May Mobility, Mobileye, and Japan's Marubeni to begin offering autonomous vehicles as soon as summer of 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Amazon's Driverless Cab Company Zoox Revs Up ‘Toaster Taxis'
Amazon hopes ride-hailers love direct eye contact because its carriage-style robotaxis feature four seats facing each other. After cutting the ribbon on a new factory in California, Amazon is ramping up production of its bidirectional, self-driving cabs ahead of a planned launch in Las Vegas later this year. The Bay Area facility currently churns out one robotaxi a day, but Zoox hopes to boost that rate to three an hour by next year. After buying Zoox five years ago for $1.3 billion, Amazon is prepping a big push onto the roads of major cities (first, Las Vegas and later, San Francisco, Austin and Miami). But rivals are already there. READ ALSO: Cybersecurity Giant Palo Alto Networks Caught Between Opportunity and Maturity and 'Uncertain' 2025, M&A Deadlock Freeze $1 Trillion in PE Assets Alphabet's Waymo said it provides 250,000 rides a week in its self-driving cabs, up from 10,000 two years ago. Riders can hail a driverless Jaguar from Waymo's app in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Waymo also recently applied for a permit to operate in New York City, where state law will require a driver, though the company is pushing to change that provision. So far, Waymo is the only fully operational self-driving taxi service in the US, but Tesla is trying to join it ASAP: CEO Elon Musk promised in 2021 that Tesla would have a million robotaxis on the road by now, which … didn't happen. Tesla did, however, put a small group of robotaxis on the road in Austin, Texas, last weekend, which Musk described in a virtual victory lap as 'the culmination of a decade of hard work.' Regulators are investigating Tesla's self-driving tech in connection with fatal accidents as critics raise red flags about its robotaxi's lack of lidar and radar, which Waymo and Zoox use. Waymo and Zoox have been investigated after incidents including erratic driving. Yellow Light. Zoox is trying to join a race that Waymo's already a few laps into, but Waymo may have made the road a little smoother. Waymo eased riders into the concept of driverless taxis with its fleet of Jaguars, which look like regular cars with some extra gadgets whirring around. Zoox's autonomous taxis don't even have a steering wheel, so Zoox has planned a marketing push to persuade riders to hop into its toaster taxis. What'll probably be more important for swaying would-be riders is how safe upcoming robotaxi rollouts are. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
The Iran-Israel conflict isn't denting Chinese business optimism in the Middle East
BEIJING — The recent flare-up in Middle East tensions isn't denting Chinese business optimism about opportunities in the region. Chinese shipments to Dubai's logistics hub have risen by 20% this month from a year ago, as locals stock up on batteries and daily necessities, according to estimates from Bear Huo, China general manager at FundPark, a fintech startup that lends money to small Chinese businesses selling overseas via internet platforms. "Overall, Chinese merchants are relatively optimistic," he said Monday in Mandarin, according to a CNBC translation. That's partly due to the relatively recent rise of the Middle East as a fast-growing market, he added. Chinese companies have increasingly turned to the region in the last few years — whether to raise money from local investors or to tap a new market for electric cars — amid trade tensions with the United States. On the geopolitical front, Beijing helped Riyadh and Tehran restore diplomatic relations in 2023. Huo's view is that the Iran-Israel tensions will end relatively soon, given that even the U.S. strikes have targeted specific strategic sites, and as fighting isn't spread out along a border as in the drawn-out conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Nevertheless, risks remain elevated as the Dubai port is right across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran. Ships are moving more slowly and there are fewer flights, Huo said. He said he does not know where products from Chinese sellers go to after they arrive in Dubai, and added that the company doesn't directly do business with Iran because of sanctions. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "strongly condemns" the U.S. attacks on Iran over the weekend, while calling on all parties involved to "reach a ceasefire as soon as possible." China's trade with Iran has dropped sharply in the last two years, according to customs data accessed via Wind Information. The U.S.-sanctioned crude exporter has relied significantly on Beijing's purchases. "A more stable Middle East serves China's economic and strategic interests," said Yue Su, Beijing-based principal economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "Beijing will be interested to position itself as a constructive power capable of contributing to global stability," she said. She noted that Chinese businesses will likely interact cautiously with Iran, given concerns over possible secondary sanctions. State news broadcaster CCTV aired interviews Sunday of Chinese citizens grateful for Beijing's efforts to evacuate them from Iran. While there are strict warnings on U.S. citizens traveling to Iran, Chinese citizens have been able to visit Iran without a visa for three weeks, for tourism or business. Most Chinese nationals who were in Iran have been evacuated, the Chinese Embassy in Iran said Monday. On an even more optimistic note, if the latest escalation results in a relaxation of U.S. sanctions on Iran, tens of thousands of Chinese businesses would likely rush to the Middle Eastern country to build up its tourism, real estate and overall infrastructure, said Qin Gang, Beijing-based founder of a consultancy that translates as Ode & Song Cultural Industry. He said he visited five cities in Iran in 2013 at the invitation of Mahan Air, a private-sector Iranian airline.
CNBC
3 hours ago
- CNBC
Iran's parliament approves blocking Strait of Hormuz. Its closure will alienate Tehran further
In major move after U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites, the country's parliament on Sunday reportedly approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, risking alienating its neighbors and trade partners. The decision to close the waterway now rests with the the country's national security council, and it's possibility has raised the specter of higher energy prices and aggravated geopolitical tensions, with Washington calling upon Beijing to prevent the strait's closure. But in all of this, it is Iran that stands to loose the most, which is why the possibility of a closure of the strait is low, experts said, discounting Tehran's rhetoric. Vanda Hari, founder of energy intelligence firm Vanda Insights, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that the possibility of closure remains "absolutely minimalistic." If Iran blocks the strait, the country risks turning its neighboring oil producing countries into enemies and risks hostilities with them, she said. Furthermore, a closure would also provoke Iran's market in Asia, particularly China, which accounts for a majority of Iranian oil exports. "So very, very little to be achieved, and a lot of self inflicted harm that Iran could do" Hari said. Her view is supported by Andrew Bishop, senior partner and global head of policy research at advisory firm Signum Global Advisors. Iran will not want to antagonize China, he said, adding that disrupting supplies will also "put a target" on the country's own oil production, export infrastructure, and regime "at a time when there is little reason to doubt U.S. and Israeli resolve in being 'trigger-happy'." Clayton Seigle, senior fellow for Energy Security and Climate Change at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that as China is "very dependent" on oil flows from the Gulf, not just Iran, "its national security interest really would value stabilization of the situation and a de-escalation enabling safe flows of oil and gas through the strait." There are currently there are no indications of threats to commercial shipping passing the waterway, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center. "U.S. associated vessels have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz without interruption, which is a positive sign for the immediate future." The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, and about 20% of the world's oil transits the waterway. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has described it as the "world's most important oil transit chokepoint." "Iran's operations in and around Hormuz are unlikely to be 'all or nothing' – but instead move along a sliding scale from total disruption to none at all," said Signum's Bishop. "The best strategy [for Iran] would be to rattle Hormuz oil flows just enough to hurt the U.S. via moderate upward price movement, but not enough to provoke a major U.S. response against Iran's oil production and export capacity," he added. On Sunday, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a post on X that pump prices in the U.S. could climb to $3.35-$3.50 per gallon in the days ahead, compared to the national average of $3.139 for the week of June 16. Should Iran decide to close the strait, it would likely use small boats for a partial blockade, or for a more complete solution, mine the waterway, according to David Roche, strategist at Quantum Strategy. In a Sunday note, S&P Global Commodity Insights wrote that any Iranian closure of the strait would mean that not only Iran's own exports will be affected, but also those of nearby Gulf nations, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. That would potentially remove over 17 billion barrels of oil from global markets, and affect regional refineries by causing feedstock shortages, the research firm said. The disruption to supply will impact Asia, Europe as well as North America. Besides oil, natural gas flows could also be "severely impacted," S&P said, with Qatar's gas exports of about 77 million metric tons per year potentially unable to reach key markets in Asia and Europe. Qatar's LNG exports represent about 20% of global LNG supply. "Alternative supply routes for Middle Eastern oil and gas are limited, with pipeline capacity insufficient to offset potential maritime disruptions through the Persian Gulf and Red Sea," S&P added. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia pointed out that "there is limited scope to bypass the Strait of Hormuz." Pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have only a spare capacity of 2.6 million barrels a day between them, while the strait oversees the transport of an estimated 20 million barrels of oil and oil products per day, the bank said in a note. All these present upside risk to energy prices, with Goldman Sachs estimating that the market is pricing in a geopolitical risk premium of $12. If oil flows through the strait were to drop by 50% for one month and then were to remain down by 10% for another 11 months, Brent is forecast to "briefly jump" to a peak of around $110, Goldman said. Brent oil futures currently stand at $78.95 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were trading at $75.75.
