Elon Musk Says Buses Won't Be Needed Once Tesla Robotaxis Start Operating: 'Will Take People Point To Point For A Similar Cost'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Saturday said that buses will not be needed when the EV giant ultimately achieves autonomous driving capability with its full self-driving (FSD) driver assistance software.

What Happened: If electric buses need to be equipped with diesel generators for heat when the temperature drops, it means that their battery packs are too small, Musk said on social media platform X. The CEO was responding to a user by the name of Peter Imanuelsen who alleged that several buses in Norway had to be equipped with diesel generators to warm the cabin during the last winter.

“…busses will not be needed when Tesla rolls out unsupervised full self-driving, as they will take people point to point for a similar cost to a bus ticket,” the CEO added, implying that the cost of availing Tesla robotaxis would be low once they enter operations.

Why It Matters: Musk is now aiming to make Tesla vehicles capable of autonomous driving with new iterations of its FSD. The software currently requires active driver supervision but will enable autonomous driving in the future, according to the CEO. The company is also looking to unveil its dedicated robotaxi offering in October.

Musk expects his company's robotaxi fleet to function like a combination of Airbnb and Uber. While a certain portion of the fleet will be owned by Tesla, individual Tesla customers can also add or subtract their vehicles to the robotaxi fleet at will for additional income. As for riders, they can summon a car using the Tesla App, Musk said.

Earlier this month, Tesla said in a post on X that it will focus on improving FSD throughout this year in the U.S. and deploying the software on its latest vehicle offering – the Cybertruck- before rolling it out in Europe and China in the first quarter of 2025.

During Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call in July, Musk said that unsupervised driving on a Tesla could be possible by late 2024 or in 2025. However, the CEO is known for overestimating the capabilities of his company’s different offerings and for providing changing timelines.

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