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If robotaxi fleets run by car companies are the future — as laid out by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk — you can count luxury legend Mercedes-Benz out of the mix.
"Our job is to take you from A to B in style. We're not a public transportation service or a mobility service provider. We could give you products if you want it, and we can sell you, but we want to give you individually that technology," Mercedes-Benz (MBG.DE) CEO Ola Källenius told me this week on an earnings call with reporters.
The German auto giant is focused on improving its driverless technology that is then sold with its cars, instead of operating a service.
Added Källenius, "I drove some of the latest [driverless tech] stuff that we had in China just on my last trip, and I was absolutely blown away by how good it worked and how the car even drove itself through a complete parking garage several floors and just found a spot for me."
Musk promised investors on his most recent earnings call that a fully autonomous ride-hailing service for the public will debut in Austin, Texas, by the middle of this year. No pricing was shared, and other details were scant.
Listen: How Ford's CEO interacts with Elon Musk
Waymo currently operates a robotaxi fleet in 37 square miles of Austin.
Tesla intends to use its internal Model 3 and Model Y fleet for the initial launch, as the Cybercab isn't slated to enter production until sometime in 2026.
The Cybercab was unveiled last October at a glitzy event at a Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, Calif. It's a battery-powered autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals. It's currently being beta tested in the Bay Area, where Tesla employees hail rides using an app, though the vehicles still feature safety drivers.
Musk envisions producing 2 million to 4 million Cybercabs a year.
Some on the Street view a robotaxi fleet in coming years as a key part of the bullish investment thesis on Tesla's stock.
"People start spreading out, and a lot of the real estate in the country that is underutilized could actually be utilized," Bank of America auto analyst John Murphy told me on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (listen in below) on the potential for the Cybercab fleet. "You could create this great economic growth."
Similar to Mercedes-Benz, General Motors is leaning into its Super Cruise driverless assistance platform.
After a series of operational setbacks, GM pulled the plug on its Cruise robotaxi business late in 2024. The company had invested $10 billion since acquiring Cruise in 2016.