Elon Musk never ceases to amaze me. From SpaceX and Tesla Motors to SolarCity and his plans to colonize Mars, there is no doubt in my mind that this man is changing the world.
I mean, he’s already disrupted a massive amount of industries in a matter of a few of years (which is a whole conversation for another day), but does that stop him from disrupting another? Nope.
Musk completely shook the ride-hailing industry when he recently announced that he is launching his own ride-hailing platform, using robo-taxis. That’s right, robo-taxis. Which is just a fancy word for fully self-driving cars. He plans to roll out one million of these cars by next year on this new platform.
Currently, it costs about $2-$3 per mile using other ride-sharing companies – and Elon predicts his new platform will cost $.18 per mile – that’s a 90% difference. Now, I’m no math expert, but that’s a lot of money being saved. And if you’re similar to me, who Ubers everywhere, this could save consumers hundreds of dollars. Not to mention, he’s offering $30,000 a year for Tesla owners to use their cars on this platform…$30,000. To put that in perspective, that’s an entry level salary.
And if you want to dig even deeper than money, let’s talk about the environment.
Think about it, this is a huge step into (literally) saving the world. It’s clear that this concept will help decrease air pollution in major cities, but this platform is also the first step (of many) to make gas and regular cars completely obsolete.
First it was energy-dependent cars and solar-powered houses, then it was colonizing Mars (which 10 years ago would have been a crazy and unfeasible idea). Now, it’s robo-taxis?? My ears ring every time Elon makes an announcement, and I can’t wait to see how this project plays out.
