Tesla’s reveal of a robotaxi designed as a low-slung, two-seater, sporty coupe - quite the opposite of a typical taxi with room for several passengers and luggage - flummoxed investors and analysts.
But in true Musk style, he skipped over expectations of how a two-seater robotaxi would serve the needs of families headed to a restaurant or to the airport, or if he expected these to appeal only to a niche clientele.
Investors jeered the design and the lack of financial detail, with Tesla stocks tumbling 9% on Wall Street on Friday.
“When you think of a cab, you think of something that’s going to carry more than two people,” said Jonathan Elfalan, vehicle testing director for the automotive website Edmunds.com. “Making this a two-seat-only car is very perplexing.”
I guess I’m thinking about an actual cab, like the type you flag down on the street, which is what these are also supposed to do (although since it didn’t stop for the investors trying to flag it down, yet another tesla failure).
If you try to ride in the front passenger seat of a yellow cab in NYC, you’ll be lucky if you’re only yelled at for trying that.