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Tesla Robotaxi vs. New York Taxi: Why the Yellow Cab has a lot to lose
Tesla Robotaxi could spell the beginning of the end of the New York City yellow cab.

Tesla appears to be on its way into the Big Apple, and a traditional Yellow Cab in New York City might be a thing of the past in the near future.
As Tesla continues to put an immense focus on the rollout of its Robotaxi platform, it is evident that driverless ride-hailing modes of transportation could truly be the way that many choose to get around. This is especially prevalent in cities like New York, where many people do not own cars. Instead, they choose to walk to hail a cab.
Tesla Robotaxi is headed to New York City, but one thing is in its way
But the limited number of medallions available for taxi drivers in New York City, as well as several other points of emphasis, seem to show the future is here and yellow cabs might soon be a thing of the past.
Instead of working tirelessly to pay off the debt from medallions, entrepreneurs could soon just buy a Tesla and have it work autonomously in New York City. Tesla executives have mentioned figures as high as $50,000 per year in terms of passive income from Robotaxi operation.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, and Robotaxi presents not only one but at least five distinct advantages over the traditional cab platform. With Tesla starting to seek employees to operate Robotaxi rides in New York, according to recent job postings, New York City cabs should prepare for the disruption Tesla could potentially cause.
Lower Operational Costs and Cheaper Fares
Uber and Lyft have already undercut the costs of New York City taxis, but Robotaxi is starting to undercut even those ride-sharing programs in Austin, Texas.
In terms of how much cheaper Robotaxi will be than cabs, it is an exponential measurement over time. Robotaxi will not require salaries, benefits, or tips, and the cost of Robotaxi could end up being just a fraction of what the same ride would cost in a cab.
This feeds right back into medallion expenses and union wages: even buying a Tesla in the next few years that has the capability to operate as a Robotaxi will be a fraction of what medallions cost, which is sometimes $200,000.
Availability and Scalability
Cabs are available at all hours of the day, but at certain times, they are less available.
Robotaxis can technically operate without breaks, other than charging. Tesla has an immense focus on scaling its Robotaxi platform anyway, and once it is available for the public to use in their personal cars, Model Ys and Cybercabs could be roaming the streets of the five boroughs with more reliability and lower wait times than traditional cabs could ever offer.
This is an issue that is even more relevant in smaller cities or less congested portions of New York.
Safer and More Efficient Rides
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology has reported recent safety figures that are ten times less likely to be involved in an accident than a human. Tesla releases a Safety Report for each quarter that proves its safety against human drivers.
As Full Self-Driving continues to advance, it will get better. Riders who want a stable and safe ride could seek Robotaxi instead of going with a human driver. This is something that we’ll likely see more of in the future as sentiment on autonomous driving grows.
Trust in autonomous vehicles has increased substantially over the past ten years. In 2015, surveys showed that trust in autonomous vehicles was low, with only 23 percent of Americans showing that they’d ride in a driverless car.
In 2021, another study performed that asked the same question showed 57 percent of adults would try an autonomous car for their travel.
Seamless App Integration and User Experience
Taxis are not always the most entertaining to ride in, and sometimes they are even more difficult to get a ride in. Robotaxi has already shown to be an incredibly user-friendly experience, with riders being able to choose what temperature the cabin is and what music they want to listen to in the cabin.
The addition of a rear screen also allows riders to choose from a selection of games or YouTube videos in the car.
One thing going for @robotaxi: the rear screen is seriously really good. Very responsive screen and well designed UI. Your music app is synced from your Tesla account and you can easily control music, watch videos, etc.
Blows away Waymo’s entertainment options, weird Google… pic.twitter.com/fep2yIGzWq
— Ethan McKanna (@ethanmckanna) July 19, 2025
Hailing a vehicle was basically resolved with the use of Uber and Lyft. Robotaxi is just as good, if not better, from an app standpoint, especially as the in-car climate is able to be adjusted from the Robotaxi app.
Music from one Robotaxi will continue to play in your next one, too. It’s a small luxury, but it’s a feature that is an improvement over a traditional taxi.
The Push for Sustainability by New York City
New York is pushing for a city-owned fleet of all-electric vehicles by 2027.
Its green initiatives, including the Green Rides Initiative, have pushed the city’s rideshare trips to be conducted by either zero-emission or wheelchair accessible vehicles by 2030.
Tesla Model 3 taxis drive NY’s resolution for more all-electric yellow cabs
The focus by consumers to use green or zero-emission vehicles could also steer right into the direction of Tesla Robotaxi, as none of the vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet will be anything but all-electric Teslas.
Carbon neutrality is a goal of the City and its residents. Moving forward, we could see these programs start to put immense pressure on the yellow cab, which could eventually be a thing of the past.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed
The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development.

Tesla’s next-generation Optimus robot with AI assistant Grok has been revealed in a new video shared on X.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last night, and it appears the frontman gave Benioff an exclusive look at some upcoming technology.
Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm
The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development. It features Grok for some additional utility, as it answered questions Benioff asked in the short video.
Here’s what was uploaded to X:
Crazy look at Tesla Optimus from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who was hanging out with Elon Musk yesterday!
Love this gold color on you @Tesla_Optimus https://t.co/NGgDqVVf1g pic.twitter.com/q8286aBNKy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 3, 2025
It appears that there are several big changes to this next-generation version of Optimus, some of which have been discussed by Musk and Tesla in the past.
The first is purely cosmetic, but the gold color that Optimus is wearing in this is a new and fresh look that we have not seen before.
Perhaps the most interesting change that is evident here is the hands, which are much more detailed than past versions of Optimus:
However, we’re not too sure that these are what will be released with the next-gen Optimus, because they don’t appear to be functional, and they are more reminiscent of mannequin hands than anything.
The hands on Optimus have been a significant part of the program, as they are among the most crucial pieces of equipment on a robot. It needs to be able to perform both delicate and more imposing tasks. Tesla has aimed for Optimus to be able to thread needles or play the piano.
It was one of the most discussed improvements the company mentioned in past comments regarding how it planned to improve from Gen 2 to this next version.
Musk mentioned regarding Optimus:
“Next-generation Optimus hand, which we have in prototype form, has actuators that have moved to the forearm, just like humans, and they operate the fingers through cables, just like human hands.”
Within Optimus lies a significant opportunity for Tesla to gain considerable strength in terms of market share and valuation.
If Tesla can efficiently develop and deploy the humanoid robot over the next several years, the company stands to gain, as companies will utilize it for tasks that require tedious labor.
Musk recently said Optimus will be a major contributor to Tesla’s valuation moving forward. He believes it will make up roughly 80 percent of the company’s value.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk to provide more details for Master Plan Part IV
Musk stated that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be adding more specifics to the recently-released Master Plan Part IV. Musk shared the update on social media platform X amidst conversations about the general nature of the Master Plan Part IV.
In a conversation on X, Musk responded to a post from Tesla retail shareholder and bull Dave Lee, who observed that the currently released Master Plan Part IV could really just be the introduction to the real plan due to its absence of specifics.
Elon Musk responded, stating that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update. “Fair enough. Will add more specifics,” Musk wrote in his post.
Tesla has been following Elon Musk’s Master Plans for decades. The first Master Plan, released in 2006, outlined the company’s path from the original Tesla Roadster to the Model 3, as well as the first steps for Tesla Energy. Master Plan Part Deux, released in 2016, covered the ramp of Tesla Energy, the expansion of Tesla’s vehicle lineup, and the rollout of a Robotaxi service.
Master Plan Part 3 was more ambitious as it was generally an in-depth proposal for achieving a global sustainable entry economy by transitioning to electricity-powered vehicles, homes, and industry, which will, in turn, be powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Master Plan Part 3 also included a five-step plan to accomplish this, allowing the world to transition to a fully electrified future.
Master Plan Part IV, which was released a few days ago, focused on automation and artificial intelligence to achieve sustainable abundance. But while the first two Master Plans were very clear and specific and Master Plan Part 3 was very in-depth, Master Plan Part IV was quite general and vague in comparison. It was easy to tell that Optimus would play a big role in the pursuit of sustainable abundance, but apart from that, there were no specifics as to how Tesla intended to achieve its goals.
Fortunately, these specifics would be discussed by Musk in a later update to the plan.
News
Tesla just had its best wholesale month this year in China
Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad.

Tesla China just had its best wholesale month this 2025 so far. In August, the electric vehicle maker sold 83,192 vehicles wholesale, a 22.55% increase compared to July 2025’s 67,886 units.
Tesla China’s wholesale figures are still down year-over-year, but the company’s momentum seems notable, especially with the arrival of the Model Y L.
August 2025 figures
As noted in a CNEV Post report, August 2025’s 83,192 wholesale figures are 4.04% less than the 86,697 units that were sold in the same period last year. It is, however, a 22.55% improvement from the previous month. From January to August, Tesla China sold 515,552 units wholesale, a 12.24% year-over-year decrease.
It should be noted that Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad. With this in mind, August’s results bode well for Tesla China, as it suggests that Gigafactory Shanghai is now hitting its pace with both its domestic deliveries and its exports. Giga Shanghai serves as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub.
Model Y L factor
Tesla had a challenging first quarter this year, thanks in part to the changeover to the Model Y across the Fremont factory, Giga Texas, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Berlin-Brandenburg. This changeover resulted in low sales in the first quarter. Political controversies surrounding Elon Musk and violence against Tesla stores and vehicles in the first and second quarters in the United States and Europe did not help much either.
This Q3, however, Tesla seems to be hitting its stride, especially in China. The launch of the new Model Y L has allowed Tesla to compete in the six-seat, large SUV segment, a market that was previously closed to the standard Model Y. Reports have suggested that Tesla China has been seeing a lot of demand for the Model Y L, which should help the company achieve higher sales this quarter and the remaining months of the year.
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