Tesla chief Elon Musk is projecting its self driving electric cars as indispensible on roads. The company is also promising to combine self-driving technology with a ride sharing service which would make eliminate the need for consumers to purchase personal cars. This call by Tesla essentially replaces its earlier well publicised call of making electric cars available for the masses.
Musk said that 1 million Tesla cars that would be completely capable of driving themselves would be on the road by the middle of next year, claimed Musk. This pledge was made by the Tesla founder and chief executive at an investor day presentation that was focused on driving autonomy. Tesla car owners would be allowed to put their cars into a shared pool of network of robotaxis, which would essentially drive around without any human intervention.
Analysts however claimed that the time line presented by Much for the on road performance of self driving cars is far too ambitious even for Musks’ standards of outlandish comments and predictions.
One of the leaders in the arena of driverless cars - Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, has yet to test its autonomous vehicles on the road without the presence of any human aid on board.
However, according to Musk, once self-driving robotaxis are ready for prime time, there would be significant monetary benefits for both the company and its customers. Tesla of late has been facing a shortage in demand for its electric cars
“The fundamental message that consumers should be taking today is that it’s financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla," Musk said on Monday. “It will be like owning a horse in three years," he added.
However this vision would come at quite a cost which can be a cause of concern for Tesla investors. When asked about the expenditure to the company for on road functioning of autonomous technology, Musk responded: “It’s basically our entire expense structure."
Earlier, Tesla had announced that it anticipates its balance sheet to be to be that cash-flow positive in every quarter after the first quarter of the current year, Musk now claims that the aim of the company currently is to become cash-neutral instead of positive because of expenses that it would have to incur for the development of a fleet of self-driving vehicles which would ultimately be the core of the robotaxi service envisioned by Musk.
“Between now and when the robotaxis are fully deployed throughout the world, the sensible thing for us is to maximize the number of autonomous units made and drive the company toward cash-flow neutral," Musk said. “Once the robotaxi fleet is active, I would expect to be extremely cash-flow positive," he added.
Musk also hinted at a possible fund raising round for the company in the near future, while replaying to a question from one of the analysts at the meeting.
“It would be difficult to talk about financing rounds in this venue," he said. “I think we’ll make the right moves. I think we’ll make the moves you think we should make."
(Source:www.livemint.com)
Musk said that 1 million Tesla cars that would be completely capable of driving themselves would be on the road by the middle of next year, claimed Musk. This pledge was made by the Tesla founder and chief executive at an investor day presentation that was focused on driving autonomy. Tesla car owners would be allowed to put their cars into a shared pool of network of robotaxis, which would essentially drive around without any human intervention.
Analysts however claimed that the time line presented by Much for the on road performance of self driving cars is far too ambitious even for Musks’ standards of outlandish comments and predictions.
One of the leaders in the arena of driverless cars - Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, has yet to test its autonomous vehicles on the road without the presence of any human aid on board.
However, according to Musk, once self-driving robotaxis are ready for prime time, there would be significant monetary benefits for both the company and its customers. Tesla of late has been facing a shortage in demand for its electric cars
“The fundamental message that consumers should be taking today is that it’s financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla," Musk said on Monday. “It will be like owning a horse in three years," he added.
However this vision would come at quite a cost which can be a cause of concern for Tesla investors. When asked about the expenditure to the company for on road functioning of autonomous technology, Musk responded: “It’s basically our entire expense structure."
Earlier, Tesla had announced that it anticipates its balance sheet to be to be that cash-flow positive in every quarter after the first quarter of the current year, Musk now claims that the aim of the company currently is to become cash-neutral instead of positive because of expenses that it would have to incur for the development of a fleet of self-driving vehicles which would ultimately be the core of the robotaxi service envisioned by Musk.
“Between now and when the robotaxis are fully deployed throughout the world, the sensible thing for us is to maximize the number of autonomous units made and drive the company toward cash-flow neutral," Musk said. “Once the robotaxi fleet is active, I would expect to be extremely cash-flow positive," he added.
Musk also hinted at a possible fund raising round for the company in the near future, while replaying to a question from one of the analysts at the meeting.
“It would be difficult to talk about financing rounds in this venue," he said. “I think we’ll make the right moves. I think we’ll make the moves you think we should make."
(Source:www.livemint.com)