Tesla is now asking businesses to buy and operate Cybercab robotaxi fleets on its network, reviving a pitch that CEO Elon Musk has been making since 2019: buy the cars, run them, and earn money passively. There's one critical problem: this promise has never materialized, and all evidence suggests it never will. If running a Cybercab fleet were truly profitable, Tesla would keep every car for itself — it wouldn't sell you a single one.
Key Points
📅 An Old Promise Returns: At Autonomy Day in 2019, Musk promised car owners they could add vehicles to the "Tesla Network" and generate up to $30,000 in annual gross profit per car. Owners paid up to $15,000 for Full Self-Driving capability based on this pledge. None of it came true. Tesla operates the robotaxi service itself, and owners who funded the vision are still waiting.
💔 MisterGreen's Cautionary Tale: Dutch leasing company MisterGreen went all-in on Tesla, purchasing over 4,000 vehicles based on promises of value appreciation and future robotaxi income. Instead, Tesla slashed new-car prices for two consecutive years, and MisterGreen's used Teslas depreciated at nearly three times the rate of the broader used-car market. Robotaxi income never materialized. The company filed for bankruptcy in December 2025, wiping out $40 million in bondholder value.
🎯 The Economics Don't Add Up — Not for You: Tesla owns the Cybercab, the robotaxi network, the software, the dispatch algorithm, and the pricing. If a single Cybercab genuinely generates $30,000 annually, why would Tesla hand that profit to an outsider instead of keeping it all? Companies don't outsource profit machines — they outsource risk. By selling you the car, Tesla transfers capital costs and depreciation to you while retaining high-margin software revenue and its cut of every fare. You're competing directly against the platform owner, which can undercut your prices, prioritize its own fleet in the app, alter the revenue split, or geofence you entirely.
⚠️ You Own the Risk, Tesla Owns the Upside: This is risk transfer dressed as opportunity. Tesla gains immediate cash from vehicle sales, keeps recurring software margins, and skims the network — while you absorb fleet depreciation and capital costs. You don't own a business in this arrangement; you own the downside. Before signing anything, ask yourself: if this is truly easy money, why is Tesla so desperate to let you have it?
