Uber chief casts doubt on Tesla’s robotaxi project

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is skeptical of Tesla’s new robotaxi initiative, saying the company isn’t prepared to enter the rideshare space.

On this week’s episode of “The Logan Bartlett Show,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said Tesla and its leadership don’t have the required experience to succeed in the rideshare industry.

“We’ve had to learn to build out a system that’s able to make everything work for both the rider and the driver with economics that work,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said on the podcast. “It’s taken us 15 years, it’s taken us tens of billions of dollars of capital, and we can provide that instantly to a partner, and hopefully Tesla will be one of those partners; you never know.”

He also pointed to the general public’s skepticism toward autonomous vehicles, exemplified by the regulatory and consumer backlash against Tesla’s autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Mr. Khosrowshahi explained that while developers say robotaxis are much safer than human drivers, the public might not be willing to accept a robot driver.

Additionally, Mr. Khosrowshahi threw cold water on Tesla’s plan to let customers rent out their vehicles to riders, saying that it may save Tesla money, but customers may not want strangers to ride in their cars. He also pointed out that relying on customer-owned Teslas for a robotaxi fleet might make dealing with demand difficult.

“It just so happens that probably the times at which you’re going to want your Tesla are probably going to be the same times that ridership is going to be at a peak,” Mr. Khosrowshahi said.

His comments come after Tesla delayed the debut of its robotaxi program by at least two months. The electric vehicle firm’s CEO, Elon Musk, announced the delay last month on X, saying designers need time to include important additions.

Uber has also announced plans to get into the growing robotaxi field. Earlier this month the rideshare giant announced a partnership with Chinese EV maker BYD, which is developing its own autonomous driving program. As part of the partnership, thousands of BYD’s autonomous vehicles will be available through Uber’s app.