Is FSD Unique to Tesla? As one would expect, China has gone the farthest in implementing autonomous driving. Blending friendly regulations with the latest developments in machine vision and AI, Baidu’s Apollo Go is effectively the world’s only robotaxi service at scale. At the same time, Tesla is still doing well in China. By the end of 2024, Apollo RT6 robotaxis should cover the entire city of Wuhan with 1,000 units. As a matter of investment, this then puts the ownership of personal cars into question. Such a robotaxi service would disincentivize people from buying cars if the public transportation alternative is no longer the only one. By the same token, Tesla’s FSD would be transformative for the company’s bottom line. Tesla would still produce cars, but at a more consistent rate for the robotaxi service. In turn, the company would generate a steady cash flow as a de facto public transportation service. More importantly, Tesla would no longer rely on cyclical consumer behavior. “The entire Tesla fleet basically becomes active. This is obviously — maybe there’s some number of people who don’t want their car to earn money. But I think most people will. It’s instant scale.” Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Q2 2024 earnings call The enormous potential in robotaxi was enough for Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, to up TSLA stock valuation by 10x to $2,600 per share by 2029. Although Baidu is likely to cover the Chinese market, Tesla has a big first mover advantage. The dependability of FSD relies on accumulated driver data that Tesla successfully siphoned over the years. It is then a question if Tesla’s AI will put it to good use to also cover fringe driving scenarios. The only Tesla contenders in the US are Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors’s Cruise, both of which offer Level 4 autonomy (human presence but high automation). What Is Expected for the Tesla Robotaxi Event? Scheduled for October 10th at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles, Tesla is to unveil its Cybercab prototype as the purpose-built robotaxi. Unlike the Waymo and Cruise approach that relies on geofencing, Tesla’s FSD should offer autonomous driving without this limitation. Having accumulated over 600 million miles worth of driving data, investors should expect to see live robotaxi demonstration. As viral videos are rolled out across social media, TSLA shareholders should expect a boost to their portfolio. On Friday, Bank of America Securities placed a $255 TSLA price target in anticipation of the Robotaxi Event. However, it remains to be seen if robotaxi is viable in the long run. The fact that General Motors suspended Cruise Origin robotaxi rollout in July is a reminder that the entire enterprise depends on a robust federal regulatory framework. To that effect, a greater catalyst for Tesla would be former President Trump’s second term. Not only has Trump stated that he would eliminate all DEI requirements across federal agencies, but that he would cut red tape and further increase tariffs against China. Following the first assassination attempt, Elon Musk publicly endorsed Trump. Do you think Tesla has what it takes to corner the highly promising robotaxi market? Let us know in the comments below. Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article.