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Layer3 TV plans to use 100 Tesla Model X fleet to deliver next-gen cable

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Denver-based Layer3 TV, a next generation cable television service provider, is switching its service vehicles to a Tesla Model X fleet as the company aims to redefine the antiquated cable TV industry using modern day technologies. Layer3’s CEO Jeff Binder said that the company’s biggest advantage is in video quality, citing “It’s unanimous”.

With plans to purchase 100 Model X vehicles by the end of the year, Binder claims that the savings from their unique installation process and the low maintenance cost of the Model X enables the company to reap “substantial” savings. Their installation costs are nearly 50% lower than competitors, enabling the company to expand the Model X fleet and creating a “win-win” scenario.

“It’s a pretty different experience… Who doesn’t like driving a Model X?” – Layer3 TV CEO Jeff Binder

The company, founded in 2013 by cable veterans Jeff Binder and Dave Fellows, raised nearly $100M to fund its big plans to disrupt the cable service provider industry. Layer3 TV tells Teslarati that they had purchased a Model X to deliver their new service in Colorado earlier this year, and recently expanded the fleet nationwide. Layer3 currently services Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Dallas, and parts of Denver. While Binder didn’t release any subscriber numbers, he said the company is seeing double digit growth month-over-month.

Layer3 Originally planned to have a fleet of BMW i3s, but ultimately decided the Model X better fit their needs.

Multichannel reported that Layer3 TV is using a fleet of Teslas for their Colorado rollout stating, “For the rollout with NextLight in Longmont, Layer3 TV is using a fleet of Tesla vehicles to perform installs and other customer visits.” Layer3 TV initially envisioned using a fleet of BMW i3s but decided to go with the Tesla Model X after determining  that they needed more space, all wheel drive, and more range.

The company plans to have a fleet of roughly 100 Teslas by the end of the year and currently has the Model X deployed in all of their markets. Jeff Binder told Teslarati via phone, “There is no downside… we are spending half as much as the competition on installs, our installers love the vehicles, it’s sustainable, and we get great marketing out of the vehicles.”

100 Tesla Model X Fleet

Layer3’s fleet of Model Xs are presumably the largest in the world, as not many company’s have adopted commercial uses for the vehicle. Binder told Teslarati that they haven’t adopted any custom fleet management systems in the Model X that’s out of the norm, but definitely plans to take advantage of the Model X’s large center screen. Binder is a bit surprised that Tesla doesn’t have much of a fleet management system, and hopes the company will develop such a program.

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Layer3 has deployed their fleet nationwide, and plans to continue adding more vehicles to the fleet. Photo: Layer3 TV

Layer3 stated back in March, “Not only do we provide quick installs, but we do it in a Tesla. Rodney (a Layer3 TV installer) installs 6 boxes in a day with our eco-friendly Tesla.”

Before the company launched their service last year they had planned to deliver the service in the BMW i3. Layer3 is aiming to be the new “upscale” cable provider, while the company doesn’t lay its own fiber or cable lines, it delivers the service through advanced video technology riding through leased fiber and private IP. You can see if Layer3 TV is in available in your area.

Picking the Tesla Model X looks like the perfect way to show customers that they aren’t doing business in the usual way which stereotypically includes late arrivals and in a beat-up white van.

The nex-gen cable TV provider has released a video showing off their new wrap which we find simply stunning. Check out the video below to see how Layer3 TV “tricked out” their Model X!

https://www.facebook.com/inkmonstr/videos/1504959446214814/

https://instagram.com/p/BSv8UHOgGQ9/

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Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals date of Tesla Robotaxi’s first rides open to public

Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues to roll out new details regarding the Robotaxi launch that is expected to happen soon.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi is set to launch in the coming days, but the first rides will be confined to those who receive invitations that the company sends out. However, CEO Elon Musk revealed the date that Tesla is aiming for when anyone in the general public will be able to call for a Robotaxi.

There has been quite a bit of information today about what appears to be an imminent launch of the Robotaxi platform. The first video of a Robotaxi was captured on a public road in Austin today, just one day after Tesla was added to the City of Austin’s list of licensed autonomous vehicle operators.

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

In the coming days, it is expected that Tesla will launch the Robotaxi platform in Austin to a select few. For now, Tesla is taking this ultra-conservative approach as it pertains to the rollout, citing safety precautions. It will be the first time Tesla has done this in public and offered it to people outside of the company.

It did launch a small, limited version of it to employees last month in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, but there was someone in the driver’s seat. Today’s video only had an occupant in the passenger seat.

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People are eager to know: when will they be able to fetch a driverless Tesla Model Y Robotaxi in Austin for themselves? Musk finally answered the long-awaited question with a tentative date of June 22:

Musk cited that Tesla’s utmost priority is still safety and not necessarily the speed of rollout. The current plan seems to be to deploy it in a controlled and slow fashion until confidence is at an extremely high level. Musk seems to believe the rollout will go smoothly, as the date comes less than two weeks after the initial launch.

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Anyone who has experienced Full Self-Driving for themselves knows what the cars are capable of. However, Tesla, at this point in time, still requires drivers to pay attention and remain ready to take over the wheel in case of an emergency. This will be a major step in the right direction for Tesla as it prepares to launch Robotaxi in Austin and slowly expand to surrounding areas.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk says Tesla Robotaxi launch will force companies to license Full Self-Driving

“The automakers keep being told that this isn’t real or that just buying some hardware from Nvidia will solve it. As Tesla robotaxis become widespread and their other solutions don’t work, they will naturally turn to us.”

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the automaker’s Robotaxi platform launch later this month will essentially force other companies to license Full Self-Driving to achieve their own goals of achieving autonomy.

Musk’s statement comes as a video captured today showed the first Tesla Robotaxi test mules on public streets in Austin, Texas, just one day after the City officially listed the company as an autonomous vehicle operator.

A prediction by investing YouTube and Tesla community member Dave Lee stated that “at least one automaker by end of year” will license Full Self-Driving from the Musk-led company, as it will give rivals the confidence to use the software to run their own self-driving operations.

Lee detailed his theory by stating that the company that chooses to commit to FSD licensing will not be able to integrate the hardware and sell those units immediately. Instead, it will take two years or so to solve the engineering and design applications.

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

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Musk revealed his true thoughts on other automakers’ attempts at vehicle autonomy, and said many are being told that Robotaxi is not real or that they can solve their problems with hardware orders to Nvidia.

He went on to say that companies will be forced to turn to Tesla at some point or another, because Robotaxi will be widespread and their solutions to figuring out an effective deployment will prove to be failures:

“The automakers keep being told that this isn’t real or that just buying some hardware from Nvidia will solve it. As Tesla robotaxis become widespread and their other solutions don’t work, they will naturally turn to us.”

Musk has not been shy to respond to speculation regarding the video of the Robotaxi, which was shared on X earlier today. This is perhaps one of the more fiery things he revealed. He seems ultra-confident in what Tesla will prove and achieve in the near future with the launch of the Robotaxi platform.

Many believe it will be rolled out this month. Bloomberg reported recently that Tesla was internally aiming for June 12. The company has not directly responded to these rumors.

Tesla has discussed on several occasions that it is in talks with an automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving, but it has never revealed who. The company first revealed discussions with another automaker in early 2024 when Elon Musk said:

“We’re in conversations with one major automaker regarding licensing FSD. It really just becomes a case of having them use the same cameras and inference computer and licensing our software. Once it becomes obvious that if you don’t have this (FSD) in a car, nobody wants your car. It’s a smart car… The people don’t understand all cars will need to be smart cars, or you will not sell, or nobody would buy it. Once that becomes obvious, I think licensing becomes not optional.”

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Tesla confirms it is in talks with major automaker for potential FSD licensing

Many, including us, suspected that Ford was the company that Tesla was speaking of due to Musk’s relationship with Jim Farley, which resulted in the legacy automaker being the first major car company to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), which gave them access to the Supercharging Network.

This catalyzed an onslaught of companies choosing to make the same move as Tesla had truly set itself apart in terms of charging infrastructure.

Companies may be forced to make a similar decision if it can make the same type of statement with the rollout of Robotaxi.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk reveals new details about Robotaxi rollout

The first Tesla Robotaxi unit was spotted in Austin earlier today, and CEO Elon Musk is revealing some cool new details.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed new details about the company’s relatively imminent rollout of the Robotaxi platform as the suspected launch date of June 12 continues to near.

Earlier today, the first video showing the first driverless Tesla Robotaxi in Austin was shared on X, just a day after the City officially listed the company as an autonomous vehicle operator on its website. Tesla is listed as a company in the “Testing” phase.

The initial details of the Robotaxi are being revealed by Musk, who is carefully releasing small tidbits that seem to show the capabilities of the entire Tesla fleet, and not necessarily just the vehicles that will be involved in the initial rollout in Austin.

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

His first tidbit is one that many Tesla owners and fans will already know: many Teslas are capable of this driveless performance, but Full Self-Driving is not yet refined to the point where the software is quite ready to handle it. Current versions are robust, but not prepared for driverless navigation. The hardware, however, will enable Teslas to be Robotaxis, even if they’re already purchased by owners:

This is one of the biggest advantages Tesla has over other vehicle makers. Simply put, the Over-the-Air software updates that will roll out to FSD users will eventually make their cars into Robotaxis as well.

However, Musk shed some details on the version of FSD that is being run in these new Robotaxis that were spotted. Musk said that the version these Robotaxis are running is a new version, but will soon “merge to main branch.”

There is also an even newer version that has four times the parameters as this newer version that the test-stage Robotaxis are using, but Musk admits that this needs significant refinement before it is released to the public.

As of now, Tesla is simply teasing the actual launch date of the Robotaxi program, but Bloomberg reported earlier this month that it will occur on June 12.

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