Tesla Robotaxis Could Still Generate 87% IRRs at $100K Per Vehicle

Citizens Bank thinks the economics of Tesla’s robotaxi model could remain extremely attractive even if each vehicle costs around $100,000.
Its estimate suggests a fully autonomous Tesla could still generate internal rates of return near 87%.
The key is removing the driver.
Labor is one of the largest costs in ride-hailing, so eliminating it can reduce the cost per ride by more than half.
That gives Tesla room to spend significantly more on sensors, compute and vehicle hardware while still preserving strong unit economics.
If those assumptions hold, the economics of autonomy could look very different from traditional ride-hailing.
A more expensive vehicle does not necessarily mean a worse business.
If utilization is high enough and driver costs disappear, the return profile can still be enormous.
That is what makes the robotaxi model so interesting.