Tesla’s robotaxi event was long on Musk promises, short on details
Elon Musk has a long-awaited to-do list for himself at Tesla’s eagerly-anticipated Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robot axis for a businessman who struggles with broken promises.
After traversing the fake streets of the Warner Bros movie studio set in a sleek, silver , two-door “Cybercab” prototype, Musk promised on Thursday night that the company’s popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be able to operate without driver supervision in California and Texas by next year.
Musk demonstrated a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town, which he claimed would “turn parking lots into parks” by promising that the company would begin producing the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 for less than $30, 000.
Then came the dancing humanoid robots that later sold for between $20, 000 and $30, 000 each, according to Musk. “I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind”, he declared.
Some Tesla investors and experts expressed concern about more detailed information on how the company plans to transition from a carmaker to a titan of autonomous driving and artificial intelligence with a solid business plan at Thursday night’s electronic dance music-infused event, which had the signature trappings of Musk’s salesmanship.
In Friday’s early trading, Tesla shares dropped nearly 8%. Since Musk announced the switch to robotaxis in April, the stock has increased nearly 50%, which has been hampered by concerns that lower-cost EV rivals might eat into Tesla’s market share. Still, shares are down 8 percent over the last year, compared with a 33 percent increase in the broad-market S&, P 500 index.
“His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualise it”, said Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. “For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren’t we focused on that”?
Gerber said he was happy to see products like the Cybercab and the robovan, but hoped to also see a more traditional, lower-priced mass-market vehicle that the company could sell in the near future.
Investors saw a need for Musk to gain new customers because he had pledged to sell a car that was scheduled to cost around $25, 000 for years. The Reuters news agency reported previously , that Tesla had abandoned this project, initially sending Tesla shares down.
According to analysts, the lack of information on Tesla’s robotaxis eased competition concerns for the companies, which shares of ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft increased by about 10%.
‘ Years behind ‘
By pursuing a less expensive technological development, Musk believes Tesla will be able to expand its autonomous vehicles much quicker than its rivals, overtaking Alphabet’s Waymo.
Tesla’s strategy is simpler and much cheaper than that of its rivals, but has , critical weaknesses. One of the issues that regulators might have with the AI technology supporting its self-driving system is that it is nearly impossible to ascertain the cause of a crash or other failure.
Waymo’s software is “at least years behind” it. That’s the hard part. No flashy vehicle design is going to change that”, said Matthew Wansley, professor at New York’s Cardozo School of Law.
Tesla’s rivals use similar AI and camera technology, but layer on so-called redundant systems and pricier sensors as a safety precaution.
Ramesh Poola, co-chief investment officer at Creative Planning, which holds Tesla shares, said he was impressed by the presentation, but “Obviously, we were looking for more details on what exactly his future plans are going to be and how he’s going to monetise this new AI and robotics”.
In particular, Poola said he anticipated that regulators would pose a “major hurdle” to Musk’s plans to shift to unsupervised autonomous driving by next year. Tesla’s current “Full Self-Driving” driver-assistance feature cannot be operated safely without a human driver paying constant attention.
“He’s shown the prototypes and definitely, there’s some excitement around it”, Poola said. But widespread adoption of autonomous Cybercabs, where riders can hail rides through an Uber-style app, are still “maybe three to four years away”, he said.
Poola continued, adding that he will be instructing clients not to sell Tesla stock. “There are lots and lots of avenues to monetise this technology”, he said. “Cybercab may not necessarily be next year, but down the road, the viability is there”.
Musk had stated that he intended to run a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that could be rented out through an app. He made no mention of the app at Thursday’s event.
Tasha Keeney, the company’s director of investment analysis, said she had been looking for more information about the app.
Keeney expressed encouragement, however, by Musk’s plan to start a self-driving system in Texas and California in the fall of 2014.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply