(Credit: Tesla)
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wants Tesla to use the Uber app for its future robotaxi business, meaning people would see self-driving Teslas as an option on the Uber app.
Tesla revealed mockups of its own ride-hailing app in April, but in an interview with Stratechery, Khosrowshahi says Tesla can still benefit from using the existing Uber app.
He makes an analogy to McDonald's, which "has its own app, and has an incredible brand, has a lot of capital, has terrific reach, [but] they still work with Uber Eats and DoorDash."
It may be more cost-effective for Tesla to work with Uber than to build and grow its own app. "Economic laws apply to Tesla, just as they do to any other car company," says Khosrowshahi.
Waymo plans to list its autonomous rides on the Uber app in Austin and Atlanta this year. Waymo started its service by offering rides through its own app, Waymo One, and is now expanding to Uber. Khosrowshahi is suggesting Tesla could follow the same path.
(Credit: Uber)Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi business in Austin in June with its Model 3 and Model Y EVs. However, Tesla has a history of not meeting CEO Elon Musk's ambitious deadlines. There are some regulatory hurdles to overcome.
The City of Austin's website currently lists six known AV operators for the city: Volkswagen's ADMT, AVRide, GM's Cruise (RIP), Hyundai's Motional, Waymo, and Amazon's Zoox.
Last fall, Tesla previewed its Cybercab and Robovan robotaxis—neither of which include steering wheels—but they aren't expected to start production until 2026 or 2027.
"This is not some far-off mythical situation," Musk said Tesla's robotaxi ambitions last month. "It's literally [a] five-months-away kind of thing." That said, "we just want to be cautious...put a toe in the water, [and] make sure everything is okay, then put a few more toes in the water, then put a foot in the water with safety of the general public and those in the car as our top priority."
Musk says he is confident the company will quickly expand to California later in 2025, followed by "Many regions of...the US by the end of this year."
As Uber's CEO notes, around 150,000 of its drivers already use Teslas, so it would be convenient for them to keep using Uber after upgrading to Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised) software. Musk suggested that its robotaxi service might one day let Tesla owners rent out their cars for autonomous rides.
If Tesla doesn't work with Uber, "some other OEM" will, Khosrowshahi argues, such as General Motors, which is working on integrating Cruise's self-driving tech into its passenger vehicles.
Economic arguments aside, Khosrowshahi acknowledges that "no one wants to compete against Tesla or Elon, if you can help it. Their capabilities are pretty extraordinary," he says. "Ultimately, we’re hoping that my charm and the economic argument gets Tesla to work with us as well. If they want a direct channel, no problem."