Blog Tesla Plans Debut of Robotaxi Service in 2020

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tesla believes it can have a ride-hailing service that leverages its self-driving system in operation sometime next year, Chief Executive Elon Musk said Monday.

Speaking at Tesla’s Autonomy Day presentation, Musk offered the most details yet on plans for the Tesla Network, a program that enables Tesla owners to offer their cars for use as robotaxis.

The 2020 timeframe is dependent on regulatory approval, which will vary by jurisdiction. But, Musk seems confident that the service will be up and running in some parts of the U.S. next year.

Tesla owners will be able to offer their vehicles as available via a ride-sharing app that works similarly to other services like Uber and Lyft. Tesla will take a 25 percent to 30 percent cut of the revenue generated by an owner’s car.

Tesla also plans to operates its own dedicated fleet of robotaxis. To build that fleet, Tesla will require that all leased vehicles be returned. The cars will then be put into service for the Tesla Network.

Musk said that a Model 3 used as a robotaxi could generate about $30,000 in gross profit per year. And, he estimates that a full self-driving car that is part of the Tesla Network would have a value of around $200,000.

It’s another hard-to-believe claim from the ambitious CEO. But, it will certainly be exciting to see if Tesla’s robotaxi efforts will alter consumer’s transportation habits in the way the company predicts.

Check out the full presentation below, with the robotaxi portion beginning at around 3:05:00:[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Ucp0TTmvqOE?t=11111″ video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

 

[rxlawdude]

"It’s another hard-to-believe claim..."

This.

 

[jgs]

Did Musk make any attempt to answer the "what about when the cameras get fouled, what does your fully autonomous car do then, smart guy?" criticism? I've never heard a good answer to that one. I mean, there are other criticisms to be made, but that one is so basic.

 

[clydeiii]

Did Musk make any attempt to answer the "what about when the cameras get fouled, what does your fully autonomous car do then, smart guy?" criticism? I've never heard a good answer to that one. I mean, there are other criticisms to be made, but that one is so basic.

Can you elaborate on what it means for "cameras to get fouled"?

Also, is "smart guy" really needed here? Everyone working on this incredibly challenging problem is indeed very smart. We don't need to point it out.

 

[jgs]

Can you elaborate on what it means for "cameras to get fouled"?

For example, mud could spatter a camera. Or wet leaves could cover it. Snow and rain interfering don't seem impossible (I've had my S's sole camera blocked by snow before despite wipers and heater) but admittedly less likely. As we currently use the cars, this is not a big deal: AP cuts out, you continue on manual or if you prefer, pull over and clear the cameras. If the car is empty, it would potentially be an insurmountable problem, leaving the car marooned until someone could come clear the sensors.

Also, is "smart guy" really needed here? Everyone working on this incredibly challenging problem is indeed very smart. We don't need to point it out.

"Needed?" No. It's a casual forum, I was writing casually and I don't think I was particularly out of line. Maybe if I'd been directing the quip at a fellow poster, but it was just a throwaway directed (in my imagination!) at the CEO of the company. Who presumably doesn't hang out here to have his feelings hurt. Yes of course it's a hard problem, yes of course the people working on it are smart. That doesn't mean they aren't subject to question or criticism, or that we have to be deadly serious at all times.

Edited to add: Now that I think back on it, I intended "smart guy" in a lighthearted, friendly fashion, not the way it's apparently been taken. Oh well, some milder version of Poe's Law I suppose.

 

[CD523]

Now let's figure out how to get the cars to charge themselves.

 

[jgs]

Now let's figure out how to get the cars to charge themselves.

 

[clydeiii]

The way you solve debris covering up cameras is the same way you solve debris covering up eyeballs: you have little mechanical wipers try to clear the surface. That is literally the only way to solve this problem.

 

[jgs]

The way you solve debris covering up cameras is the same way you solve debris covering up eyeballs: you have little mechanical wipers try to clear the surface. That is literally the only way to solve this problem.

Yes, exactly. The fact none of the current fleet have those little mechanical wipers suggests the promises of the fleet turning fully autonomous at some point in the future are, how shall we say... optimistic? No matter how wizardly the silicon inside is, it ain't gonna wipe off the eyeballs.

 

[Dinoraptor101]

Now let's figure out how to get the cars to charge themselves.

Lol already done (see the auto charging station by Tesla, looks like an Anaconda)

 

[MichaelP90DL]

Wait, what?

"Tesla also plans to operates its own dedicated fleet of robotaxis. To build that fleet, Tesla will require that all leased vehicles be returned. The cars will then be put into service for the Tesla Network."

Does this mean someone who leased a car gets the lease terminated? That's a messed-up way to build customer relationships.

 

[TesLou22]

Did Musk make any attempt to answer the "what about when the cameras get fouled, what does your fully autonomous car do then, smart guy?" criticism? I've never heard a good answer to that one. I mean, there are other criticisms to be made, but that one is so basic.

Assuming the glass isn’t cracked or some other mechanical issue and using the example of mud and leaves this is easy! I am going assume your AV would be able to pull over somewhere safe. Then (and this is where the magic happens) you simply “rent” a Tesla Pickup and send it to the location where your car is. Next it’s built in snakes will use compressed air and mini-squeegee to clean the camera. Finally while that’s happening another snake will give your car some extra juice!

 

[Ben D]

Did Musk make any attempt to answer the "what about when the cameras get fouled, what does your fully autonomous car do then, smart guy?" criticism? I've never heard a good answer to that one. I mean, there are other criticisms to be made, but that one is so basic.

I would expect the answer is basic, such that they don't consider it a real problem. Car could be programmed to drive to a designated automatic carwash if a certain number of sensors get too dirty. Hard to think of a scenario where all of them would go at once, especially if they are programmed not to drive on muddy roads etc.. So I'd say they don't see this as too much of an impediment to worry about installing extra wipers over sensors etc. Furthermore, I'm not much of a fan of self driving cars myself, but if i was down at the pub over the legal limit (Ok, i'm really drunk...) and I was hailing one of these things for a ride home, even in my drunken state I would want to get home safe, so I'd do a walk around myself and check and clean any dirty sensors off, for my own benefit..... So it may not be as much of an issue as people think.

 

[jgs]

it may not be as much of an issue as people think

When you're trying to go from a 99% good system to six nines or whatever it is they need to do better than a human driver, you have to consider the low-probability problems. Same when you're talking about a fleet of millions of vehicles -- if there's a 1/10 of 1% chance of leaf fouling disabling a car -- which is driving back from a drop-off empty, so no the customer who's rented it can't get out and clear -- then out of a million vehicles at any given time you've got a thousand of them dead by the side of the road waiting for service. Adjust the numbers to fit your assumptions, but the point stands that it's a question that at least deserves to be addressed if the proposal is to be taken seriously.

 

[Dinoraptor101]

The answer is SO SO simple, the front camera is the only one exposed to rain (unlike side repeaters)
And to be rain proof the camera is placed BEHIND THE WINDSHIELD.

 

[Drabus]

The answer is SO SO simple, the front camera is the only one exposed to rain (unlike side repeaters)
And to be rain proof the camera is placed BEHIND THE WINDSHIELD.

1 - it is behind windshield. Still needs to see through.
2 - Side cameras get covered in salt during winter in places (Canada, for example) that use salt on the roads to de-ice. Every couple days I have to manually rub the side cameras during the winter to confirm they will work.

If it's a daily wipe down as the owner or a service when it charges, that works!

 

[Drabus]

Wait, what?

"Tesla also plans to operates its own dedicated fleet of robotaxis. To build that fleet, Tesla will require that all leased vehicles be returned. The cars will then be put into service for the Tesla Network."

Does this mean someone who leased a car gets the lease terminated? That's a messed-up way to build customer relationships.

Forgot to answer to this one.
You do NOT have to return the car. You just don't have the option to buy the car once your leases is done. That's what Elon said.

 

[jgs]

The answer is SO SO simple, the front camera is the only one exposed to rain (unlike side repeaters)
And to be rain proof the camera is placed BEHIND THE WINDSHIELD.

What @Drabus said. Furthermore, as I mentioned before, mud, leaves. Both of these can stick to vertical surfaces, just like salt. Not only that, I have experience with the front camera on my S being covered with snow and ice beyond the ability of the heater and wipers to clear it (this is with warmed wipers, too, that the Model 3 doesn't have). None of this matters much as long as the car has a driver in it, and is probably even OK with a customer in it -- oh, but wait, unless the customer is disabled, or a small child, or other reasons. What's more, a robotaxi will sometimes run with a customer, and sometimes not, because returning empty from a drop-off.

P.S.: What are "repeaters"?

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

Tesla believes it can have a ride-hailing service that leverages its self-driving system in operation sometime next year, Chief Executive Elon Musk said Monday.

After all, it's already a solved problem. I mean, they had no problems meeting their December 2017 deadline for the coast-to-coast autonomous drive, did they? So RoboTaxi 2020 is a shoe-in.

Oh, wait...

[this post is sarcasm]

 

[Dinoraptor101]

The way you solve debris covering up cameras is the same way you solve debris covering up eyeballs: you have little mechanical wipers try to clear the surface. That is literally the only way to solve this problem.

You can never have debres on a Tesla, they solved that problem by installing the camera behind the windsh

What @Drabus said. Furthermore, as I mentioned before, mud, leaves. Both of these can stick to vertical surfaces, just like salt. Not only that, I have experience with the front camera on my S being covered with snow and ice beyond the ability of the heater and wipers to clear it (this is with warmed wipers, too, that the Model 3 doesn't have). None of this matters much as long as the car has a driver in it, and is probably even OK with a customer in it -- oh, but wait, unless the customer is disabled, or a small child, or other reasons. What's more, a robotaxi will sometimes run with a customer, and sometimes not, because returning empty from a drop-off.

P.S.: What are "repeaters"?

The official name of side camera is repeater. (see TeslaCam video feed labeling)

I did not think about the salt problem, or the mud. Both are serious valid points on the Robotaxi concept, unless those cars get washed daily, and parked in shade. They might cause all kinds of surprises. That said the vehicle still uses Radar and Ultrasonics as main anti collision sensors so at worst. A robo taxi will stop and request a customers help to clean camera.... Embarrassing.