Tesla Unveils Autonomous Ride-Hail Service Details, Maintains Bitcoin Holdings Steady
Summary:
Tesla has offered a sneak peek of its forthcoming autonomous ride-hailing service, with CEO Elon Musk likening it to a combination of Uber and Airbnb. The service will allow customers to summon autonomous vehicles. Owners can lease their cars for rides, with Tesla taking a percentage of the revenue. Musk predicts the fleet could eventually number into the "tens of millions." However, contrary to rumors, Tesla has not increased its Bitcoin holdings for a straight seventh quarter. Tesla shares saw a 13% surge in after-hours trading despite Q1 earnings missing predictions and revenue dropping 9% to $21.3 billion.
On Tuesday, Tesla, headed by CEO Elon Musk, revealed further information about its long-anticipated self-driving ride-hail service, which allows passengers to call for a purportedly autonomous vehicle, much akin to Uber. During an earnings briefing for the first quarter held on April 23, a sneak peek of the ride-hail application was presented, demonstrating features such as car summoning, temperature adjustment in the car, vehicle location tracking, and the selection of music. Tesla, a renowned electric vehicle manufacturer, has been hinting an impending large-scale launch of robotic taxis for quite some time. Back in 2019, Musk expressed a high level of confidence that Tesla would kickstart its robotaxi operations by 2020. However, that plan never materialized.
The proposed scheme would enable a Tesla car owner to lease their car for rides, with Tesla securing a percentage of the revenue and the car's owner receiving the remainder. Each vehicle was projected to achieve a gross profit of around $30,000 per year. Musk clarified during the recent earnings call that the scheme would work similarly to a fusion of "Airbnb and Uber", where Tesla would manage the primary fleet while a portion of cars would be owned by the ultimate user. The owner then has the liberty to include or remove their car from the fleet at will or restrict its usage to only friends, family or five-star riders. Musk further elaborated that owners could ask for the car to be returned to them for personal use, much like Airbnb. Musk hinted at an initial fleet consisting of approximately 7 million vehicles, but he envisions that this number could eventually reach the "tens of millions."
Slated for an August reveal is Tesla's purpose-built robotaxi, which Musk referred to as the "Cybercab" in the recent earnings call. In the meantime, despite recent rumors, the latest financial records indicate that Tesla hasn't increased its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings for a straight seventh quarter. Last month, it was noticed that Tesla's Bitcoin wallet, as shown on Arkham Intelligence's dashboard, displayed a balance of 11,509 BTC - 1,789 more than the previously reported holdings of 9,720 BTC. This led to speculation that Tesla might have increased its Bitcoin stock during the quarter, however, Tesla's current balance sheet indicates its net digital assets remain at $184 million. Despite first quarter earnings falling short of market expectations and the company witnessing one of its major decreases in revenue—a 9% slip to $21.3 billion— Tesla shares recorded a 13% surge in post-market trading.
Published At
4/24/2024 8:40:56 AM
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