Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 8th.
Many Tesla owners have paid $12,000 to have their vehicles equipped with the company’s Full Self-Driving feature, which is being developed to offer true autonomous driving capability at some point in the future.
Elon Musk held a cyber rodeo to celebrate the opening of the company’s Austin, Texas factory. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
Full Self-Driving was originally priced at $5,000 but has increased as new features have been added, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said it will be worth more than $100,000 when fully functional is and receives official approval.
Because if that ever happens, owners have been told they can sign up their vehicles for an autonomous driving service that allows their vehicles to make money for them, rather than just sitting around parked. Unfortunately, it sounds like they have competition to worry about.
Matt Holm, President of the Tesla Owners Club of Austin, Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, and Barron’s senior author Allen Root discuss the opening of Giga Texas in The Claman Countdown.
During Tesla’s Cyber Rodeo event Thursday night to mark the opening of the company’s new Austin, Texas, factory, Musk mentioned some future products in the works, including a robotaxi.
“What I can say is that we are going to be moving to a truly massive scale — a scale that no company in human history has equaled. That has to happen to transition the world to sustainable energy will be a dedicated robotaxi that will look quite futuristic,” Musk said.
Musk has previously raised the possibility of developing a van, but said that is on hold due to battery supply limitations. He didn’t go into the details or the design Thursday, but another of his firms may have already given a glimpse of what’s in the works.
The Boring Company has developed a self-propelled transporter for its proposed underground transportation systems. (The Boring Society)
Musk’s tunneling company, The Boring Company, has included a delivery truck in several of the computer animations of the autonomous underground transportation systems that it has shown to cities across the country, including Chicago.
The vehicle features a tall body with large windows, sliding doors, forward and side-facing seats, and no driver controls. It is similar to the people-mover train cars used at some airports and convention centers, but has bulging fenders that house its wheels.
The Boring Company’s van is designed to operate in its tunnels and on city streets using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology. (The Boring Company)
As the shocking Cybertruck proved, you never know what to expect from Tesla, but the van was an ongoing topic.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
As for when that, or full self-driving, will be achieved, Musk, who once told customers to expect it in 2017, said during Tesla’s January conference call: “My personal guess is that we’re going to get full self-driving this year.” “