Tesla wants to start removing the steering wheel from its cars within 2 years

In less than 2 years, Tesla plans to put on sale a branded vehicle without a steering wheel that can be added to the company's Robotaxis network

As we told you in a previous postTesla held an investor event on Monday to unveil its future plans for autonomous driving.

The company said that by the end of this year it will have the software ready to make fully autonomous driving a reality. By 2020, it expects regulatory authorities to approve the software. allow their cars to circulate completely autonomously, without the need for a human to pay attention to the road.

At this point, Tesla aims to create a network of Robotaxis, so that any owner can take advantage of their vehicle when it is not in use, earning money from it.

The steering wheel has its days numbered

Tesla's plans are so ambitious that They plan to eliminate the steering wheel - and the pedals - in the vehicles of their fleet of RobotaxisDuring the event, Elon Musk even said that, once fully autonomous driving becomes a reality, it will be the users themselves who will ask for the steering wheel to be removed, as it will be completely unnecessary. Something that will not be complicated, he said, since they will only have to "erase it."

“I think there will be a transition period where people can take control of a Robotaxi, but once regulators give the go-ahead, we’ll just take the wheel off the wheel.”

Musk said that the probability of the steering wheel eventually disappearing in the brand's vehicles It is 100 percent, and they will even offer the possibility of removing it from those Teslas that were purchased previously and had it integrated as standard. In his opinion, it will be a very popular option, since people will end up demanding that a human not be allowed to drive.a dangerous 2-ton death machine", thus referring to the superiority of fully autonomous driving.

Removing the steering wheel will also reduce costs.

Musk also mentioned the cost savings that removing the steering wheel will bring, making it even more cost effective for a Tesla owner to use as a Robotaxi. Musk believes that a Model 3 added to Tesla's network You will be able to generate around 30 thousand gross dollars a year as a Robotaxi. Considering that its current cost is about 50 thousand dollars, from the second year the investment will be amortized and will begin to generate profits for the owner.

The truth is that, no matter how well fully autonomous driving works, we find it difficult to accept the idea of ​​buying a vehicle that comes without a steering wheel, even if it is only for very specific use. But who knows... maybe Elon Musk is right. What do you think?