Elon Musk Has Been Promising Robotaxis To Investors Since 2016

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“Master Plan, Part Deux” was the first concrete mention of a Tesla robotaxi. The 2016 blog post, which is no longer published on the automaker’s website, outlined a concept where Tesla owners could add their car to a self-driving rideshare fleet to completely offset the purchase or lease cost. Musk wrote:

“When true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. Once it picks you up, you will be able to sleep, read or do anything else enroute to your destination.”

“You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you’re at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla. Since most cars are only in use by their owner for 5% to 10% of the day, the fundamental economic utility of a true self-driving car is likely to be several times that of a car which is not.”

“In cities where demand exceeds the supply of customer-owned cars, Tesla will operate its own fleet, ensuring you can always hail a ride from us no matter where you are.”