Tesla trusts the Robotaxi as his next Milmillonario business. China is already in conversations to get ahead in Europe

Robotaxi is the business of the future in urban mobility. At least that is what technological giants such as Tesla, Google or Baidu believe and what some analysts have been saying for years. Although for now it is a business where profitability does not seem to be in sight, expansionist plans continue.

And the next battlefield is Europe.

That is what they claim from The Wall Street Journal. The American media ensures that Baiduconsidered the Chinese Google, works to try its vehicles without driver in Switzerland. Türkiye would follow the deployment and would be the first step to hit the table and position himself as pioneers on European soil.

The information comes after Baidu has opened conversations with Swiss Post for Postauto, one of its units that provides the public bus service, has vehicles of this type on the street. If everything goes ahead, the goal is to start testing at the end of this year. The project with Türkiye, internal sources have affirmed WSJ It is similar.

Objective: Be the first

Putting autonomous buses on the market that can make trips for themselves without the intervention of a driver is a shortcut to open the way to a future robotaxis business.

While in the United States and China, this business is being tested for a long There are active tests with busesa horizon for a robotaxis service in the street has not been completed.

The problem of these services is that, for the moment, they are not generating any profitability. In the United States, General Motors burned so many Cruise tickets that he has preferred Cancel the project Despite having squandered billions of dollars along the way. Waymo’s success is partial because despite working in various cities in the country, its reach is small.

And, at the same time, Tesla has also put all the machinery in motion to enter the market. However, the company’s own shareholders They have expressed their doubts on whether this must be the path that the company has to take. The project seems to have surpassed a more affordable Tesla, which has generated doubts.

As to ChinaRobotaxis are much more widespread. In fact, Baidu operates in 12 different cities with its apologue service but Face Weride competition that is already available in eight cities, Pony.ai either Momenta that are in full phase of expansion.

Given the competition and the hard challenge of profitable services, these companies are in full expansion to third countries. For example, Weride has already reached an agreement with Uber to integrate into its platform and offer trips with autonomous robotaxis in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The objective is to take the service to 15 different cities in the future.

In spite of everything, companies that want to enter the European market have it complicated. At the moment, European regulation is very demanding with autonomous vehicles and, in fact, Tesla herself has to save some functions In vehicles that are able to advance without a driver inside the park, offering a service cut in front of what they have on the street in the United States.

For now, the closest thing to a robotaxi is what offers Mercedes. The company already has functions for the driver to completely disregard the car, as long as it circulates less than 60 km/h, the environment has previously mapped and the weather conditions are good enough.

Despite doubts, as we say there are companies that see in this business a clear commitment to the future. Tesla has joined In the background to the business proposal of Waymo or Baidu, technological giants that aspire to develop their own software for autonomous vehicles and put them on the street associating with a large vehicle company that provides them with the hardware, that is, of the car in itself.

The only difference with Tesla is that Elon Musk’s company can manufacture its own vehicles and with their own assembly chains and the acquired knowledge They aspire to earn more money working in vertical integration with proper vehicles and software development that stays at home.

Photo | Baidu

In Xataka | I have tried a totally autonomous taxi. This is traveling without driver