Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla, revealed plans to launch a self-driving taxi service this year.
Musk CEO noted during a conference call after Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report on the 29th (local time) that, "We will launch the paid service of the fully autonomous driving (FSD) software without driver supervision in Austin, Texas, in June." He said, "I am confident that we will launch the fully self-driving Tesla service in several other U.S. cities by the end of this year, and probably nationwide next year."
Regarding the vehicle models deployed for the robo taxi service, he explained that, "This year, we will operate with our internal vehicles," referring to the concept of paid ride-hailing with self-driving. He continued, "Next year, people will be able to add or remove their vehicles from the (hailing service)," adding, "It will be similar to adding or removing your house from an Airbnb listing." Tesla is developing a new cybertruck exclusively for its robo taxi service, aiming for mass production in 2026.
He also expressed confidence in the safety of the FSD technology. Musk CEO emphasized, "We have confirmed improvements through (FSD) version 13, and the gradually enhanced version of version 13 and version 14 will represent another much more significant step beyond that."
Musk CEO also referenced the humanoid robot Optimus, saying, "Clearly, over time, the training expense will decrease dramatically," and added, "By the end of December this year, we will succeed in producing about 1,000 units of Optimus, and these robots will be doing useful tasks." He stated, "No company does reality-based AI as well as Tesla," and said, "I don’t even know who’s second in the AI field."
However, Tesla's performance in the fourth quarter of last year was somewhat lackluster. Tesla’s revenue for the fourth quarter of last year was $25.77 billion (approximately 37.1466 trillion won), with earnings per share (EPS) at $0.73 (approximately 1,055 won). Both revenue and EPS fell short of the Wall Street average estimates compiled by financial information firm LSEG ($27.26 billion in revenue, EPS of $0.76).
Total revenue increased by 2% compared to the same period last year. However, revenue from the automotive institutional sector declined by 8% compared to the same period last year, totaling $19.798 billion (approximately 28.6081 trillion won). Operating profit recorded $1.583 billion (approximately 2.2874 trillion won), a 23% decrease compared to the same period last year. The operating profit margin fell to 6.2%, down 2.0 percentage points from the same period last year (8.2%).