Sometimes, the only thing more complicated than the auto industry is the English language. So when Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided to map out the burgeoning growth area for robotaxi coverage in Austin, Texas, the punctuation played a critical role in defining whether it was a normal critique of Musk’s actions or surprise by readers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk couldn’t help himself when it came to showing the expanded coverage area of Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin.
“What? A dick, Elon?” or “What a dick Elon.”
While the latter is the norm, whether it be women he’s interested in procreating with or laments of disappointment from consumers or Americans by his actions as head of the largest EV maker in the world or his involvement with the Trump administration.
It was the former usage — What? A dick, Elon? — that had a wide array of people either rolling their eyes or snickering about the update regarding the expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi service in Austin, which is nearly a month into its testing phase.
Childish past
Anyone who has followed Tesla and Musk for any length of time (see what I did there?) shouldn’t be surprised by this kind of behavior. Much of his persona is teenager-as-rich-adult in nature. Rides in a robotaxi cost $4.20, if you’re invited.
When he first got himself into hot water with federal securities officials a few years back by claiming he had an offer from Saudi investors that would allow him to take the company private, the price of the offering? $420 a share.
He’s got an affinity for the number 69 as well, which only services, er, serves to confirm his sense of humor skews toward giggly 14-year-old.
More Robotaxi News
- Tesla v Waymo: Get Set for the Battle of the Robotaxis
- Musk Sets Date for Robotaxi Debut
- The “Musk Effect”
Mine’s bigger than yours
Tesla’s Robotaxis will begin covering a big area of Austin.
The map Musk produced suggested that the new coverage area would be larger than that of competitor, Waymo, which has been in the area much longer. Waymo covered 37 square miles of Austin.
However, if size matters, Waymo is stepping up, enhancing its coverage area to about 90 square miles of the city. The company announced the move the day after Musk’s effort. To be clear, Waymo officials didn’t make any jokes about being bigger or anything like that. It just simply whipped out, er, up a new map showing its new coverage area.
Waymo also provides robotaxi service in multiple cities, including Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while Tesla — for now — is limited to about 40 square miles of Austin.
However, Waymo did offer up one bit of gamesmanship, noting it is “the only fully autonomous, 24/7 experience for anyone in Austin.”
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