If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one • Hacker News Board

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#21

Post by greenmilk » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC

Hertz infamously came out of bankruptcy guns-blazing and purchased 100k cars for $4.2 billion and helped drive Tesla's market cap above $1 trillion in 2021

By 2024 they had begun dumping the EVs and reported a $2Bn loss as a result.[0]

The HTZ stock price has fallen 90%.[1]

Somehow TSLA is still trading in the neighborhood of that 2021 peak. Currently trading at a PE ratio of over 300, despite declining revenues[2].

Really wish I understood the Elon Musk voodoo.

[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/14/hertz-makes-agile-decision-t...

[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/HTZ/

[2] https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/tsla/revenue/

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#22

Post by fieryscribe » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 4:57 PM UTC

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it.

That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#23

Post by gyanchawdhary » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 4:57 PM UTC

mikestew wrote: post #17

ieie3366 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a junk website. I know the word has bad connotations but literal fake news

It's an opinion piece, I'm at a loss as to how it could be "fake". Regardless, the owner of the site is still pissy about...something to do with Tesla, I've since forgotten. Doesn't make him wrong, but it's certainly a consideration when reading Electrek.

Low effort opinion piece, yes.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#24

Post by cyanydeez » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 4:59 PM UTC

fieryscribe wrote: post #22

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

[flagged]

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#25

Post by amazingamazing » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC

cyanydeez wrote: post #24

fieryscribe wrote: post #22

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

[flagged]

Telsa is going for a certain rough aesthetic with both the Cybertruck and Cybercab branding.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#26

Post by HardCodedBias » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC

fieryscribe wrote: post #22

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

It's more than that, Tesla owns the brand, the manufacturing, and the software.

They are much more than McDonalds.

But indeed your comparison is an apt way to reply to this "article".

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#27

Post by amazingamazing » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:02 PM UTC

I may buy one if it works. It would pay for itself in about 3 years. Parking where I am at is about $50 a day. If this thing can drop me off and go make me money it is a no brainer.

Skeptical it will work as advertised, though.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#28

Post by Mountain_Skies » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:03 PM UTC

danans wrote: post #15

hackingonempty wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be very surprised if the manufacturer would sell you one without you agreeing to indemnify them.

> I would be very surprised if the manufacturer would sell you one without you agreeing to indemnify them. Why would anyone other than a fool agree to indemnify Tesla against liability for a vehicle whose driving behavior is controlled by Tesla?

As long as the first two letters in LLC hold up, lots of people would be willing to enter into a new market that appears to have a lot of potential upside and profit, with the downside limited to whatever they invested, or borrowed, to get it going.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#29

Post by dyauspitr » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:05 PM UTC

fieryscribe wrote: post #22

If McDonald's was profitable, they wouldn't try to franchise it. That's what this is. You take on operating costs and you understand your local market. They own the brand.

The key thing here is liability. A McDonald’s franchisee is protected if the thing that makes someone sick was a result of bad food supplied by the McDonalds corporation. In the case of Tesla, irrespective of the self driving software the Tesla corporation provides, the “franchisee” is always the one liable.

Re: If a Tesla Cybercab fleet were profitable, Tesla wouldn't sell you one

#30

Post by Sparkle-san » Mon, Sep 07, 2026, 5:06 PM UTC

greenmilk wrote: post #21

Hertz infamously came out of bankruptcy guns-blazing and purchased 100k cars for $4.2 billion and helped drive Tesla's market cap above $1 trillion in 2021 By 2024 they had begun dumping the EVs and reported a $2Bn loss as a result.[0] The HTZ stock price has fallen 90%.[1] Somehow TSLA is still trading in the neighborhood of that 2021 peak. Currently trading at a PE ratio of over 300, despite declining revenues[2].…

He's an effective conman for those with money that needs investing. His track record is objectively bad[0] and that doesn't matter as long as he can say the right thing at the right time to keep the stock high and his investors happy and believing that the breakthrough is just around the corner.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_predictions_for_autono...