On the robotaxis and Tesla vs Waymo. Once self driving tech is available in most cars, can't any Uber driver offer

[Quixote1818]

their car to be used and just not have them in it? Where is the moat for Tesla and Waymo in this regard? It's all going to depend on that tech to get to a point people trust it but I don't see how any company can have a corner on that market.

Am I missing something?

[EdmondDantes_]

1. Mostly economy of scale and network effects

A big company can more easily afford to buy in bulk, to cover the loss of a vehicle, to have their car available at peak times, and having enough users to make it worth the risk of damage and increased insurance etc. In theory someone could make the Fivr of car rental to get around the network issue, but then they have to get the funding to get that going and you're adding in a middleman cutting the profits.

[tinrobot]

2. It'll be a long time before most cars have it.

The equipment on a Waymo is about $250K. Plus, there's a lot of back end computing power and people needed to support it. Even so, they're limited to driving only in certain areas that are well-mapped. It's going to take a while before they drive everywhere and are cheap enough for anyone to buy.

Tesla's solution is pretty pathetic in comparison, not even close to competing.

As for what happens when the technology is cheap enough so everyone can have it? At that point, we might have to completely rework how we do transportation. Good chance people might put their cars to work as taxis. And, with a glut of taxis, other people might not buy a car at all.

Plus, most cars spend 80% or more of their time parked. If those cars are always "working", then it could add a lot more vehicles to the road. You could be in a traffic jam where only half the cars are occupied.

[Hugin]

5. That the owners of these vehicles are willing to pay $150k/year on a gimmick...

To avoid paying someone $30K/year to drive a taxi shows the breathtaking levels of contempt held against other Americans.

[flvegan]

3. Liability insurance for when your "self driving" machine

mows down a few children before crashing into a hospital, bursting into flames and destroying everything.

Ahem, uh, I mean I'm sure Tesla will get their shit together some decade from now. I don't know that Waymo is up for that challenge.

[mainer]

4. Passenger acceptance will take time

I ordered an Uber and was offered a Waymo, which would get there 8 minutes earlier. No thanks, I said. The idea of getting locked in a driverless car was too scary.