It’ll be like an Airbnb for cars, it seems.
American EV carmaker Tesla is riding on a high right now, with the company posting its first quarterly profit in the last two years, making it the third time the company’s managed to post a quarterly profit in the last 15-years. With money coming back into the company (due largely to the increased delivery of Model 3s), Tesla boss Elon Musk has a bit more confidence to talk bigly again, after he had the wind knocked out of him following a US Securities & Exchange Commission settlement demanding that he & Tesla pay out some US$20-million each and give up his chairmanship.
Specifically, that second-wind has come in the form of future projects for the Tesla brand, like a move into the ride-sharing space and taking on more established brands like Uber & Lyft in the North American scene. Elon Musk says that this move is “obvious,” and will be operated more like an Airbnb for cars. As such, it’ll allow Tesla owners to use their own cars as part of this ride sharing service initially; When autonomous-operation comes into reality, it’ll also allow Tesla themselves to operate a fleet of company-owned vehicles that can supplement or complement existing customer-run vehicles in high-traffic areas to ensure quality of service.
In addition to this, Musk revealed some details about upcoming models for Tesla. The Model Y, which is slated for a 2019 debut and a 2020 delivery, is apparently ahead of schedule. Musk says he “recently approved the prototype to go into production,” though it’s likely that production won’t commence any sooner given that Tesla is already resorting to setting up tents to ensure Model 3 production hits targets.
Further, Musk also said that the Tesla Pick-Up will be “next-level stuff,” and when all models slated for the brand are considered (that’d be the Model Y, the Roadster, the Semi, and the Pick-Up), Tesla can boast of “the most exciting product roadmap of any company on Earth.”
Sure thing, Elon. Just stay off Twitter, okay?
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