Yesterday, Elon Musk announced Tesla's plans to take over the ride-sharing industry with the introduction of 1 million self-driving robotaxis in 2020, according to Business Insider.
The newest competitor to services such as Lyft and Uber will run on the brand's ride-hailing platform, the Tesla Network. But unlike its competitors, Tesla's cabs won't have a driver inside. Instead, owners of Tesla models with autonomous driving functionality will be able to "lease" out their ride for taxi purposes when they're not using the car themselves.
According to Musk, Tesla's ride service will be significantly cheaper for users than other services and will offer Tesla owners the opportunity to make around $30,000 per year. The average cost of running a ride-sharing car currently sits between $2 and $3 per mile. Musk claims a Tesla robotaxi will cost $0.18 per mile to run.
"The fundamental message that consumers should be taking today is that it is financially insane to buy anything other than a Tesla," Musk said. "It will be like owning a horse in three years. I mean, fine if you want to own a horse. But you should go into it with that expectation."
[CORRECTION: April 23, 9 a.m. EDT]: An earlier version of this story stated incorrectly that the current average cost of a ride-share taxi is $2 to $3 per mile for the customer, not the owner's running costs. This story has been updated to amend that.
