The CEO of ride-sharing platform Uber has shared some of his doubts about Tesla’s ability to effectively execute robotaxi plans for its customers, pointing to the customer service side of the business as well as vehicle owner skepticism about letting strangers into their cars.
Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi platform in October, and CEO Elon Musk has talked at length over the years about hopes that such a platform could let owners’ vehicles work in a ride-sharing capacity while not in use, effectively making them money while driving themselves and ride-share passengers.
On Friday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi appeared on the Logan Bartlett Show on YouTube to discuss autonomous vehicles, during which he expressed more than a few doubts about Tesla’s robotaxi plans. For one, he says, peak ride-sharing times might coincide with the times owners want to use their own vehicles.
“Probably the times at which you’re going to want your Tesla are probably going to be the same times that ridership is going to be at a peak,” Khosrowshahi said during the interview.
He also notes that he doesn’t think society is prepared for self-driving vehicles, even if they are getting closer to goals of becoming safer than human drivers.
“Logic would dictate that if robots are twice as good a driver or three times as good as drivers as humans, that’s good for society going forward, but I honestly don’t know if society’s ready to accept that,” Khosrowshahi said.
The Uber CEO also talked about the business changes that Tesla would need to invest in to successfully build such a platform, and he noted how different he believes the ride-sharing and vehicle-building businesses really are.
“It’s a really, really different business you know, as well as talking about hardware, to build a $20,000 or $50,000 piece of hardware from driving over 30 million transactions every day that on a revenue basis you make $2 off of,” he added. “It’s just a very, very different business.”
Khosrowshahi also goes on to highlight the extra platforms that companies have to create to accommodate things that can go wrong in a ride-sharing vehicle, from people getting sick and wanting to pay with cash to those losing items in their ride-share, accidents, and more.
Unsurprisingly, he notes that it might be worthwhile for Tesla to partner with ride-sharing services like Uber in the future instead of developing its own, noting that he thinks the automaker could benefit from partnering with Uber.
“It’s taken us 15 years. It’s taken us tens of billions of dollars of capital, and we can provide that instantly to a partner,” Khosrowshahi added. “Hopefully, Tesla will be one of those partners.”
You can see the full interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi below, as hosted by the Logan Bartlett show.
To be sure, Tesla has already teased a mobile platform it has been building for its robotaxi plans, and it has been developing its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised for the past several years through testing and training from drivers that have purchased the software.
Other companies like Waymo and Cruise have also been working on their own driverless ride-hailing solutions, with the former already offering paid rides in select areas for the service. Despite this, Musk has previously highlighted that he thinks these companies will have a lot more trouble scaling these services, due to their requirements of high-density mapping of specific serviceable areas.
These, Musk says, are unlike FSD, which can theoretically be used just about anywhere due to its camera-based system and continuously-trained neural network. It’s worth noting that Tesla’s FSD still requires supervision, hence the name FSD “Supervised,” and it isn’t exactly clear just yet when the company expects to launch unsupervised versions of the software.
Although Tesla was originally supposed to hold its robotaxi unveiling event this month, Musk noted that the delayed event would allow the company to make some important changes and allow it to show off additional features.
“Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things,” Musk wrote in a post on X last month.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk may rethink his charity pledge after Peter Thiel’s Bill Gates warning: report
Musk reportedly took Thiel’s suggestion seriously.

Reports have emerged suggesting that Elon Musk might be rethinking his promise to give away most of his fortune. This was reportedly due to his longtime friend Peter Thiel, who told the world’s richest man to withdraw from the Giving Pledge because his wealth could end up “in left-wing nonprofits chosen by Bill Gates.”
Thiel shared the story during a private lecture series in San Francisco in September. As noted in a Reuters report, Musk reportedly took Thiel’s suggestion seriously.
Thiel warned Musk about his fortune going to Gates-backed causes
Thiel said he even ran the math to make his point. By checking actuarial tables, he calculated that if Musk died within a year, his pledge would effectively direct $1.4 billion to Bill Gates. Musk reportedly said, “What am I supposed to do, give it to my children? You know, it would be much worse to give it to Bill Gates.”
Musk signed on to the Giving Pledge in 2012, two years after it was co-founded by Gates and Warren Buffett, as noted in a Daily Beast report. The initiative asks billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes either during their lifetime or through their wills. Gates’ foundation has focused on global health, education, and gender equality, areas Thiel has described as “left-leaning.”
Spokespeople for Thiel, Musk, and Gates have not issued a comment about the matter.
Elon Musk and Bill Gates
Thiel, who co-founded PayPal with Musk in 2000 before launching Palantir and becoming Facebook’s first outside investor, has maintained close ties to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over the years. Musk, for his part, continues to donate through the Musk Foundation, which funds education, clean energy, and scientific research.
Elon Musk and Bill Gates’ relationship has taken a nosedive in recent years, especially amidst news that the Microsoft co-founder had taken a short bet against Tesla. Musk seemed to have taken Gates’ Tesla short personally, considering that the EV maker is fighting for sustainability, a cause that the Microsoft co-founder has supported.
Gates has also been skeptical of Tesla’s projects such as the Tesla Semi, which Gates noted was not feasible due to the limitations of battery technology. More recently, the two billionaires butted heads when Gates claimed that the cuts initiated by Musk’s DOGE initiative would cost 2 million lives. In a post on X, Musk responded by stating that “Gates is a huge liar.”
News
Tesla axed one of the Model Y’s best features in ‘Standard’ trims: here’s why
Lars Moravy explains why Tesla chose to go with a glass roof in the new Standard trims, despite it not being visible.

Tesla chose to implement a glass roof on the new Model Y ‘Standard’, despite the fact that you won’t be able to see it from the inside.
In the new Model Y ‘Standard’ configuration, one of the biggest changes is the lack of a glass roof, which is one of the more unique features Tesla offers.
How Tesla’s Standard models will help deliveries despite price disappointment
The entire roof of the Model Y’s ‘Premium’ and Performance trims is glass, giving everyone in the car an astounding view of the sky.
However, Tesla chose to cover this up in the new ‘Standard’ trim level. Here’s a look at it:

Credit: ItsKimJava | X
Despite it not being visible from the inside, the roof is still made of glass. It is only visible from the outside. Even if you removed the headliner in the Model Y ‘Standard,’ you would not be able to see the outside, because the glass is opaque:
Fun fact about the Standard Model Y closed glass roof. A Tesla engineer told us that the glass is opaque, so even if you removed the textile lining on the inside, you would not see the outside. 😔 More details to come on our first drive video this Friday. pic.twitter.com/N4uZFlblBB
— Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) October 8, 2025
Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain, Lars Moravy, commented on the use of glass in the Premium models and how it differs from the glass in the Standard trims:
“All glass is NOT created equal. Remember, the Model Y Premium glass is laminated with silver IR reflective coatings to make it super comfy and reject solar load… the standard is not… plus LOTS of people wanted a closed headliner, always trying to listen (and improve road noise at the same time).”
The decision to cover up the glass while still using it was an efficiency choice. Moravy said Tesla chose to keep the glass for the new Standard models due to “cost, supply chain, and manufacturing efficiency.”
Cost, supply chain and manufacturing efficiency in our factories
— Lars (@larsmoravy) October 9, 2025
Tesla launched the Standard models on Tuesday. The cars were effectively a counter to the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.
News
How Tesla’s Standard models will help deliveries despite price disappointment
“What a giant miss,” one person said.
“With all due respect, no way is this what y’all have been hyping for 6 quarters…” another one claimed.
“So…where are the affordable models?” another reply read.

When Tesla unveiled its Standard versions of the Model 3 and Model Y this week, reactions were mixed. Many liked the addition of two new models, but they were also concerned about the price.
“What a giant miss,” one person said.
“With all due respect, no way is this what y’all have been hyping for 6 quarters…” another one claimed.
“So…where are the affordable models?” another reply read.
Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings
There’s no arguing it: $36,990 and $39,990 for the Model 3 Standard and Model Y Standard were not what consumers had in mind.
But, despite Tesla getting its new offerings to a price that is not necessarily as low as many expected, the two cars still have a chance to assist with quarterly deliveries.
Here’s how:
First-time Tesla buyers will lean toward Standard models
Tesla owners have become accustomed to expecting all the bells and whistles in their cars. Heated seats, ventilated seats, acoustic glass, vegan leather, industry-leading performance, world-class range, and a glass roof are all expected by current or past owners.
But what about new owners?
New owners do not have these high expectations, so to many of those who have not sat in a Tesla or driven one before, they are going to be blown away by the minimalistic looks, capabilities, and features of the Standard models.
The Premium models will feel like the high-end offerings that other automakers also have for sale, except they’ll only be a few thousand dollars more than Tesla’s base models. With other companies, the price for these higher-end trims is $10,000 or more.
The more affordable Standard models will be there, but if buyers want the extra features, they’ll likely be able to justify the extra few thousand dollars.
Tesla’s Standard Models fall under the U.S. Average Transaction Price
Kelley Blue Book releases a new report each month showing the average transaction price (ATP) of all vehicles sold in the U.S. for that month.
The latest report, released on September 10 for the month of August, revealed an ATP of $49,077. This was up 0.5% from July ($48,841) and higher year over year by 2.6%.
Technically, Tesla’s new Standard models fall well under that ATP, meaning they technically do qualify as “affordable.” However, realistically speaking, affordable does not mean “under the national average.”
It means accessible for low-income families, single-parent households, and other groups. This would likely be under $30,000.
Déjà Vu with the Cybertruck Rear-Wheel-Drive
When Tesla offered the Cybertruck RWD, it stripped out many of the best features of the Cybertruck, such as the adjustable air suspension, powered tonneau cover, and interior materials, just to name a few.
It was $10,000 less than the Cybertruck AWD, but many people essentially viewed it as a way to push consumers toward the more expensive variants, since the discount was a better value than missing out on features.
Tesla released the Cybertruck RWD to make the AWD look like a deal
Something similar could happen with the Standard models. With it only being a few thousand dollars less than the Premium Model 3 and Model Y, some consumers will see it as a better option to go with the more expensive trim levels.
Even if they don’t, many car buyers will see it as a deal to grab the Standard versions.
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