- Tesla will start charging passengers who cause chaos while using its Robotaxi service.
- Riders will be assessed fees at one or two levels depending on the severity of the disorder.
- Fees will cost up to $150 for “severe” tampering, including biohazard events and smoking.
The Tesla Robotaxi service just gained one of the most realistic features imaginable: a cleaning fee for when you lose your lunch in the back seat.
according to Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt on XIt appears that the company is now rolling out two levels of cleaning fees for passengers of its Robotaxi service. The level at which the mess falls depends on how much cleaning it requires. TToday, if you spill, smoke, vomit or make a big enough mess to disrespect the interior of their fleet, you may now be politely charged up to $150 for your transgressions.
Would a light vacuum work for something like spilling French fries or tracking dirt? That would be $50. But if you can end your night on the town with a lot of stuff You get motion sickness with an electric caryou have unlocked the premium tier of graphics. The same goes for anyone who smokes in a car.
Tesla says anyone who manages to make a big enough mess can expect to pay up to $150 in cleanup fees.
What’s surprising here isn’t the fees themselves. This isn’t new for any ride-hailing service — which is understandable — but it also slightly undermines Tesla’s carefully curated vision for how to make frictionless self-driving cheaper and easier than ever before.
Tesla has promoted the Robotaxi as being able to clean and charge itself without any human intervention. This should make much of fleet management (the hardest part of any passenger service) easy. However, in typical Tesla fashion, the automaker’s long-term vision is easy to promise, but difficult to achieve.
The automaker’s fleet of Robotaxi-branded vehicles, which still (Mostly) are technically partially automated today, still requiring a significant amount of human intervention for things like cleaning and shipping. This means that cars can’t really go into an automated area and clean themselves – yet – which may be why Tesla may justify the fee until Tesla masters this area of its business.
Maintaining the appearance of shared vehicles is essential if you want passengers to trust the product. I know I certainly wouldn’t want to find a surprise meal on the floor of the Uber you ordered, let alone a Robotaxi where it was promised that the driver wouldn’t be there at the end to address your concerns.
So, yes, cars might one day drive themselves, but it’s just the first step in maintaining a fleet of cars without a human in the driver’s seat. The real issue here is that independence on the road certainly does not eliminate human problems. In Tesla’s case, it merely automates the implementation of consequences.
