Tesla To Use Human Back-Up Drivers For Cybercab Fleet

Tesla intends to launch its planned robotaxi service initially with human back-up operators for safety purposes, Deutsche Bank said in a research note following a meeting with the firm’s head of investor relations.

The electric vehicle maker plans to begin with a company-owned fleet and an internal ride-hailing app, the note said.

Tesla previously said it plans to launch a robotaxi service in California and Texas next year, and the bank said it is still aiming for that goal.

The note said Tesla is still aiming to launch a more affordable electric vehicle in the first half of 2025 and other models later in the year.

Autonomous tech

Deutsche Bank said it spoke with investor relations chief Travis Axelrod.

“Tesla believes it would be reasonable to assume some type of teleoperator would be needed at least initially for safety/redundancy purposes,” Deutsche Bank wrote.

Management intends to “start off entirely with the company-owned fleet” with an internally developed ride-hailing app, it said.

The bank said Tesla remains well-positioned due to its innovation and execution strength, in spite of issues in the automotive industry including pricing pressure, high inventories and dampened demand in Europe and North America.

The note said Tesla was at the “forefront of the technological and scale curve in terms of reaching practical autonomy”.

The bank said it believes Tesla’s substantial computing resources help put it ahead of autonomous driving competitors, allowing to to train several end-to-end AI models within weeks.

“Chinese competitors are also now taking this approach but are naturally playing catch-up,” the bank said.

Robotaxi

Tesla unveiled its Cybercab robotaxi prototype in October and demonstrated its ability to navigate through a highly controlled environment at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California.

At a public event this month at a showroom in San Jose, California, Eric E., the lead engineer on Cybercab, said the vehicle would have roughly half the number of parts of a Model 3 today.

The Cybercab has two seats rather than four for the Model 3 and lacks other components such as a steering wheel or pedals.

Following the event Tesla was sued by the makers of the film Blade Runner 2049 for imagery at the event that the filmmakers claimed was derived from the film without permission.

The makers of an earlier film, I, Robot, also noted imagery they claimed was suspiciously similar to their film.