Tesla’s robo-taxi (autonomous self-driving taxi), which began a trial run in Austin, Texas, on the 22nd, is drawing attention online as a “tip joke.”
Passengers using a Tesla robot taxi are surprised by the “tip selection screen” on the app. If you choose “one dollar,” “two dollars” or “other amount,” the message “Just Kidding” will be displayed immediately. It is a witty scene showing that there is no need to tip as there is no driver.
Such an event is interpreted as an intention to emphasize self-driving technology and to emphasize that it is a tip-free taxi service. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also shared a related article on social networking services (SNS), saying, “It’s funny, but I had to do it.”
Robotaxi’s delightful ‘tip joke event’ is also a humor-pointing criticism of the tip culture of ride-hailing services in the United States.
In fact, in the United States, manned taxi service companies such as Uber and Lyft are increasingly openly demanding tips, which is controversial. App users are complaining, saying, “It’s actually a structure that forces tips.”
Uber has reorganized its app to provide tips before, during and after driving, and is designed to display a tip screen before evaluation after boarding. Since October last year, Lyft has been sending messages such as “tip thank you” to passengers 15 minutes after boarding.
However, the percentage of passengers who actually tip the driver is low. Only 28% of the passengers tipped the driver between January and May of last year, according to data analysis company Gridwise. Tip culture is rather a burden in the era of high prices.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
