"Is Tesla still a car company? It's a question we've been asking ourselves more frequently over the past year, especially as the company's car business shrinks and Elon Musk continues to push the message that Tesla should be seen more as an AI and robotics leader and less so as a mere seller of four-wheeled conveyance. Last night during Telsa's quarterly earnings call, the question of whether Tesla still wants to sell cars was seemingly answered by Musk and his lieutenants."
"And Musk repeated his assertion that Tesla didn't need to make more mass-market vehicles because, in the future, all cars will be autonomous. "The vast majority of miles traveled will be autonomous in the future," Musk said. "You know, I would say probably less than-I'm just guessing-but probably less than 5 percent of miles driven will be where somebody's actually driving the car themselves in the future, maybe as low as 1 percent.""
Tesla discontinued the Model S and Model X to free capacity for humanoid robot mass production and to emphasize AI and robotics initiatives. Company leaders framed Tesla more as a transportation-as-a-service provider than a conventional automaker. Elon Musk predicted that autonomous driving will dominate future miles, estimating human-driven miles could fall below five percent and maybe near one percent. Executives indicated less focus on producing non-autonomous mass-market vehicles and more focus on autonomous platforms and robotics. The car business is shrinking while strategic priority shifts toward autonomy and robotics development.
Read at The Verge
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