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

electrek.co

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

#81

Post by fieryscribe »

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #74
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.

actually most franchise restaurants are not profitable and eventually go out of business. subway is famous for being basically a pyramid scheme that only makes money by fleecing aspiring restaurateurs. mcdonald's is an exception because they are primarily a real estate company and commercial landlord.

Most things go out of business. That's why the franchising model exists. Local owners know their local market best and they take a calculated risk on it.

From what I understand, McDonald's franchisees can make 5-15% of gross revenue of their location. That's a decent return, along the lines of other investments. As with all investments, you may lose too.

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

#82

Post by hackingonempty »

fieryscribe wrote: post #77
bluelightning2k wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's actually a very good point. Also if Elon Musk has a demonstrable superpower it's the ability to raise capital. So they really could order 100,000 of these themselves.

They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics. His revealed preference is to run things centrally and at massive scales.

> They could, but running local operations isn't his forte, preference or interest, it seems. Even if he had a massive fleet of these, he'd have to navigate local laws, demand, operations and logistics.

Doesn't Tesla operate its own dealer network?

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

#83

Post by hackingonempty »

gavinsyancey wrote: post #20
danans wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

There are a lot of fools out there. The real question is whether a clickwrap indemnification would hold up in coult; I suspect it wouldn't.

Why wouldn't it? People are agreeing to indemnify and hold manufacturers harmless all the time. IANAL though.

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

#84

Post by cyanydeez »

amazingamazing wrote: post #25
cyanydeez wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

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

The rough: youre living in apocalyptic hellscape because money buys mental insecurity, not love. Better armor up and avoid humanity!

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

#85

Post by kazinator »

> Tesla is now asking businesses whether they’d like to buy and operate their own fleets of Cybercab robotaxis on its network.

Would you like to pay for the privilege of using our network, with hardware you buy from us, in order to subsidize our costs of running that network for ourselves so our cost turns into a profit, so we can then compete with you on that same network?

He must have been having lunches with Bezos.

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

#86

Post by amazingamazing »

qlte wrote: post #56
amazingamazing wrote: post #27

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.

Does the pay off calculation include the frequent interior cleaning any rental car will need to be kept in service 24/7? Both normal wear and tear and spills, vomit, blood, etc that users are motivated by fees to pretend they didn't do until the next user or two after them reports it.

Yes, renting it off is unnecessary.

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

#88

Post by esalman »

pseudosavant wrote: post #45
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.

One problem in your analogy, for McDonalds, the franchisee is the one who actually operates the business. For the Cybercab, Tesla is the one operating it via "Full Self Driving", their app, and the Tesla rideshare network. As the owner, the only thing you do is own it, insure it, have a place to park it, and take on the risk of what happens if the vehicle registered to you is in an accident. Clearly, a pretty one-sid…

I think a more apt analogy is iPhone. You pay Apple for a brand new one, they make more money when you make in-app purchases.

Another really important issue is depreciation. You own the car for a few year and eat a cost of depreciation, and then figure out how to dig yourself out of the hole the way Hertz did. Similar to iPhone- you use one for 2+ years and then get a new version- you're also responsible if the phone breaks.

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

#89

Post by esarbe »

Synthetic7346 wrote: post #75
esarbe wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if it gets damaged or a drunk customer vomits into it or otherwise soils it?

You can buy the TeslaCare package for just 9.99 a week, or 5000 a year

I don't think that also covers cleaning[1].

[1] https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/health-supplements/tesl...

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