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Transportation

Tesla Moves Towards Launching an Uber Competitor (axios.com) 203

Posted by EditorDavid from the car-talk dept.
"Tesla is taking steps to launch a ride-sharing service that could compete directly with Uber, Lyft and Waymo," reports Axios, noting that Tesla "has filed for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, Bloomberg reported Thursday." "That classification means Tesla would own and control the fleet of vehicles," Bloomberg reported... "In its communications with California officials, Tesla discussed driver's license information and drug-testing coordination, suggesting the company intends to use human drivers, at least initially," Bloomberg reported. The company is seeking the same type of permit that Waymo uses to run its robotaxi business.Uber is gearing up to begin offering autonomous vehicle services in partnership with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta later this year.
The article also adds that Musk "told investors in January that 'I'm confident that we will release unsupervised FSD in California this year,' referring to the company's Full Self-Driving system." But "Tesla has yet to apply for a permit to operate driverless vehicles..." notes the EV blog Electrek, adding "This is just a step for Tesla to test ride-hailing services ahead of autonomy."

Reuters also points out that "Earlier in October, Tesla revealed the Cybercab, a robotaxi concept that had no steering wheel or control pedals... He has said the Cybercab will go into production in 2026 and will also be available for customers to buy for less than $30,000."

Tesla Moves Towards Launching an Uber Competitor More | Reply

Tesla Moves Towards Launching an Uber Competitor

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  • own and control comes with a lot of liability!

  • can customers in their own Cybercab get an DUI? Will Tesla cover court costs in case it happens?

    • Per TFS, The Cybercab will have "no steering wheel or control pedals." So there's no way for the occupant to control the vehicle directly, even if s/he wanted to.

      Short answer: no, I don't think someone riding in a Cybercab could be liable for DUI, because they wouldn't be "D"-ing.

      Tesla might wind up on court in the case of a crash, but not for a DUI, because the Cybercab, bless its heart, cannot drink.

      • bless its heart, cannot drink.

        AI models can, however, hallucinate. I'm dealing with a lot of that now at work, albeit on LLMs not what Tesla is doing.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Alinabi ( 464689 )
        Yes a DUI is a poor test case, since the computer can't get drunk, but hitting a pedestrian is not. In that case, you could incur at least civil, if not criminal liability. You had agency. You decided to take a potentially unsafe car for a ride, and you told it where to go. Anybody trying to get compensation would be more inclined to sue Tesla, since they have deeper pockets, but I am sure they will have an ironclad EULA that dumps all the liability on the user.

        • That EULA surely would be unenforceable. How can you shift liability to someone who is simply riding in the vehicle, without control over it?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Alinabi ( 464689 )
            You might want to read carefully the Microsoft Windows EULA. It says, in way more words than necessary, that you will not hold Microsoft liable for any losses caused by Windows (e.g., if it malfunctions and wipes off your hard drive). Very much enforceable.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dryeo ( 100693 )

        DUI is about being in control of a vehicle, so as long as you can tell it to do something, you're in charge. There's been cases of DUI's while operating a horse https://horserookie.com/can-yo... [horserookie.com]
        A horse is likely better at self driving then any vehicle and in some States is considered a vehicle, especially if hooked up to a cart. Seems I remember a case where the rider got busted going home from the bar even though the horse knew the route very well and self drove home.

  • leon (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ihavesaxwithcollies ( 10441708 )
    Shouldn't that no talent assclown stick to being an unelected con man? Isn't there more taxpayer money he can leech off of?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bjoast ( 1310293 )
      Aren't most billionaires unelected?
    • You may not like him but he clearly has talent.

  • Branding (Score:3, Informative)

    by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @11:53AM (#65203435) Homepage

    The new service will be branded "Swasticab" and will only make right turns. (Actually, Muskler is pissed that "Uber" was already taken.)

    • Re:Branding (Score:5, Insightful)

      by karmawarrior ( 311177 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @11:58AM (#65203447) Journal

      Before any RW mods moderate the parent as Troll/etc, bear in mind he's making an important point: Musk's reputation right now is toxic. Sales of Teslas are down across the world including the US where sales of electric cars are up in general. The term "swastikar" has entered the public lexicon (together with "Wankpanza" specifically for the CT.) Tesla owners are putting stickers on their cars begging people not to make assumptions because they bought the car before it became known Musk was a Nazi. Teslas are even being vandalized and Tesla dealerships suffering vandalism and worse from people on the furthest ends of the anti-Musk spectrum.

      So this is probably the wrong time for Tesla to try to launch an Uber competitor, in California of all places.

      • Yes, Cal of all places. https://www.reuters.com/busine... [reuters.com] and that was last year. I imagine sales will go full on constipated in Cal. I know EU sales have tanked even worse than Cal for Tesla, and I thought I'd read sales in China were down as well, although that is probably due to competition being better/cheaper. If I owned Tesla stock I'd be getting out now. The stock is priced as a growth stock and sales are contracting in a growing market. Not good. Someday the institutions are going to run the numbers

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by sinij ( 911942 )

        Before any RW mods moderate the parent as Troll

        Since when applying Godwin law [wikipedia.org]is a right wing?

      • Sales of Tesla are going down for a long time already, that's because there are better alternatives these days which costs much less and are more luxurious, so why go for a Tesla (which already wasn't known for its buildquality). Yeah,Musk's behaviour might have a slight influence on it, but it's far from what people claim it to be.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Alienating the left, a major part of the customer base for Tesla, during a period of significantly increased competition is a dumbshit move any way you want to cut it.

          • Well, he also "relocated*" Tesla to a state that hates electrics so much that it's actually still illegal for him to sell them there. You can still get them in Texas, of course. But you have to jump through some legal loopholes where you actually "buy" them in another state but merely "take delivery" or your car in Texas. So to say his thought processes are rather skewed is not new news. I think he just believes his own PR so much that he actually thinks he *can't* alienate anyone and that anyone who boug

      • Holy shit I thought you were joking about wank panzer. Google's AI tool will actually tell you that it's a term that refers to an overpowered vehicle used to boost your ego specifically the cybertruck...

        Also you can really tell that Google's AI isn't very good. The Cyber truck is not overpowered. The damn thing can't even complete off-roading challenges that a Subaru can.
      • What are you talking about? I see Teslas everywhere and people love them.

    • Xwasticab

  • Somewhere to take a dump while on the go.

    • Somewhere to take a dump while on the go.

      Normally I'd thank you for the belly laugh, but I've caught some nasty bug and laughing at your comment literally hurt me. Still, it was worth it. Cheers!

  • Should be easy now (Score:3)

    by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @11:57AM (#65203443) Homepage Journal

    Just have your buddy write an executive order to shut down Uber and Lyft. Since EO carries the weight of law and cannot be challenged anymore.

  • Meanwhile Musk's political nonsense means a third of the country or more won't touch his new service.

    • Re:Meanwhile (Score:4, Funny)

      by jenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @12:48PM (#65203547)

      ... a third of the country or more won't touch his new service.

      My - what a polite euphemism for Trump offering his chin for Elon to rest his balls on.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      Meanwhile Musk's political nonsense means a third of the country or more won't touch his new service.

      Exactly, vote with your wallet. Forcing things on people without consent is a left-wing thing.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by skam240 ( 789197 )

        What are you talking about? Women dont even have full autonomy over their own bodies in some states now because of right wing efforts. Or how about book banning which the right does far more than the left? The right has no problem telling people how to live their lives.

    • Oh please, in reality if they provide a cheaper alternative to waymo/Uber and Lyft, most people will just take the robocab, because people will look at their wallet not their 'principles' (and in reality, most people don't give a F what Musk did or does). And I'll bet most people would have applauded if Biden would have come up with DOGE and put one if his friends in charge.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by skam240 ( 789197 )

        Product boycotts only work when right wing culture warriors do them, right?

        • Except in reality only a few loud mouth people actually do a product boycott, most just don't give a damn and just look at what's best and most affordable for them, and these days there are many more better alternatives to a Tesla car, and THAT's the biggest reason why Tesla is loosing sales. They also haven't had a new model for quite some time. If they would actually be able to put a decent new Tesla out for less than $25.000, not a two seater like the robocab, they would probably go back to the top.

  • Bursting into flames in a city near you.

  • Will any hailing do? (Score:3)

    by Lavandera ( 7308312 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @12:35PM (#65203511)

    Or will it have to be a specific hailing for Tesla car to stop?

  • Musk is a genius, who I have defended here. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by greytree ( 7124971 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @12:36PM (#65203515)
    Musk is an engineering management genius. Anyone who says otherwise is more demented than Trump.

    Musk did amazing things at Tesla, and even more amazing things at Spacex. He is changing the world, often for the better.

    But somewhere along the way, around the time of the cave diver slander and before he fell for a ludicrous Pelosi hoax story, he lost it. He started believing in nonsense.

    Musk got where he is by taking dangerous risks. Those were business risks and only his own companies were threatened.

    But now a demented Musk is risking American democracy and - after yesterday - helping Trump bring the world to the brink of disaster.
    It is everyone's moral duty to oppose him.
    • If you proved to me that Leon was compromised by the Russians, I would never disbelieve. With his weird fetishes and stuff - he seems like someone who could easily get doing something kinky/weird while on camera for Vlad.

    • Care to list out the things he did? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @04:24PM (#65203893)
      Because where I'm standing he just bought two existing companies that had a line in on some big government contracts. Technically Tesla didn't start out as a contract so much as a carbon credit scheme but honestly same difference.

      Musk's greatest achievement was getting fired from PayPal when they realized he was incompetent. Because he was c level that got him a 22 million dollar gold in parachute and a shitload of stock options that if he was a lower level employee would have been stolen from him but instead gave him the capital to get in on that aforementioned carbon credit scheme.

      After that it's just been pumping dump after pumping dump leading all the way up to the cyber truck.

      There's no genius there just dumb luck, taking advantage of his father's connections and money to get in on the ground floor and then sucking at the teat of government. There's a certain level of cleverness I'll give you that but it's the kind you get from a carnival barker taken to a ludicrous degree because our civilization is gradually collapsing. He's this generation's Nero.

      • Re:Care to list out the things he did? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @05:12PM (#65203963) Homepage

        It's the same reason Jobs got the limelight when it was really Woz who made Apple possible. The brains behind Musk's innovations were the people he'd hired. They deserve all the credit, but we've structured our society so the figureheads get the recognition and profits, while the person toiling away in some lab gets a footnote in a Wikipedia entry. We collectively consider winning at the game of capitalism to be more important than being a genuine innovator. Seriously, we've even got a television show where inventors beg for money from some wealthy folks, since their ideas generally don't have a snowball's chance in hell of success without financial backing.

        This is why the whole Ferengi as a satire of capitalism in Star Trek was so spot-on. If you have money, you can exploit those beneath you and take all the credit, and that's just considered good business.

        • So jobs at least picked the right products for Apple to run with. Musk didn't even do that. He famously has a team of people that keep him away from making decisions in any company that he runs except Twitter. And Twitter famously fired 80% of their staff and had an 80% drop in revenue.

          The one time Musk did something product wise we got the cybertruck which has entire YouTube channels dedicated to all the breakdowns and failures and laughable parking lot princesses that bought it.

          To be fair the cybe

  • It's just pump and dump (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @12:52PM (#65203561)
    It's the cyber truck all over again or that last event with the robots.

    Every time the stock drops Musk does something like this and the press eats it up. The SEC meanwhile wasn't doing their job when Biden was president let alone now that Musk is.

    I'm not sure it's going to work this time. The last time he tried it with that silly event with the robots that were being controlled by wire the stock market didn't buy it. It's pretty well known that Tesla doesn't have the tech to run robotaxis

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      Every time the stock drops Musk does something like this and the press eats it up.

      Yes, he is good salesman. Feel free to short his stock.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by skam240 ( 789197 )

        A good salesman would stay out of politics themselves so as to not draw controversy and instead pay people to do stuff for them. Tesla sales are already in decline https://nltimes.nl/2025/03/01/... [nltimes.nl] and the numbers we have now dont even reflect Musk's current levels of political involvement.

        He's choosing to dive into highly controversial political stuff right when the rest of the auto industry has started to catch up to and even surpass Tesla, his most valuable asset. There's a reason billionaires dont usual

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by sinij ( 911942 )
          It isn't as profitable to be in sales when Western civilization around you collapses and perhaps get replaced by something else without free markets. Musk wants to go to Mars, he thinks he needs another 30 years to get sustained presence there. Without intervention there wouldn't be US in 30 years.
      • and when he'll dump. Without that insider knowledge the risk is too high for me.

        I will give Musk credit, he makes sure that anyone what really matters (read: not me. Or you) doesn't lose money. He doesn't make the mistakes Madoff or Holmes made.

  • Free Luigi (Score:3)

    by zawarski ( 1381571 ) on Saturday March 01, 2025 @02:26PM (#65203747)
    He still has important and mysterious work to do.

  • ... suicide squad. I presume.

  • Bold move Cotton!

    Maybe there are enough cultists out there to support this.

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