Event collaboration

The first ride is the whole argument

Nobody is talked into trusting a driverless car. They take one ride, usually short, usually with friends, usually somewhere the alternative was a long walk to a distant lot or a surge-priced wait. After that ride the argument is over. Events are where that first ride happens at scale: thousands of people leaving the same place at the same time, all wanting the same thing, none of them wanting to drive.

That is why event collaboration is one of the three areas we are building out, and why it belongs next to hubs and vehicles rather than in a marketing budget.

What an event looks like with a Robotaxi network

Before. The venue and the network agree on pickup and drop-off points, staging space, and the window when demand will spike. Vehicles are positioned at nearby hubs and at the venue's staging area before doors open and before the final whistle.

During. Riders book in the app as they do anywhere else. The venue's staff and signage point people to the pickup points instead of the parking deck. Staging keeps vehicles arriving in a steady stream rather than a scrum.

After. The vehicles that carried people in carry them out, then return to hubs to charge and be cleaned for the next day. The venue has moved a crowd with fewer idling cars, fewer ride-hail pickups blocking its curb, and a story to tell its next sponsor.

We will not pretend to have run this yet. The description above is what we are planning toward, and the first events we run will teach us what it actually takes.

The events we have in mind

Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington are full of the kinds of gatherings this works for:

• Game days at stadiums and arenas, where the departure surge is the sharpest demand any transport system faces.
• Concerts and festivals, where crowds are large, arrive over hours, and leave in minutes.
• Conferences and conventions, where attendees move between hotels, the convention center, and dinners across several days.
• University events: commencements, home games, move-in weekends.
• Seasonal and coastal events in Wilmington, where visitor volume spikes and downtown parking was never built for it.
• Private and corporate events, where a host wants to move guests between a venue and hotels without organizing a bus.

What we are looking for

If you organize any of the above, or own or operate a venue that hosts them, in Charlotte, Raleigh, or Wilmington, we would like to talk.

• Venues with staging space, curb, or a lot corner that could become a pickup point, and a willingness to plan an event with us before the vehicles arrive.
• Organizers and promoters who want a transport story for their next season and are open to a pilot.
• Event transport operators who run shuttles today and want to be part of what comes next rather than replaced by it.
• Hotels and hospitality groups whose guests travel to and from the same venues every weekend.
• Civic and tourism bodies that think about how visitors move through a city.

How collaboration could work

• A planning partnership now. We map your venue and its events into the hub plan for the metro: where vehicles would stage, where riders would board, what the demand window looks like. This costs you a site walk and a conversation, and it puts your venue first in line.
• A pilot event when vehicles are available: one game, one show, one conference, run together, measured honestly, and written up.
• A seasonal or series agreement once a pilot has shown what works.
• Shared marketing, where it makes sense, so your attendees know a new way to arrive exists.

Nothing on this page is an offer. It is a description of the conversations we want to have.

What we can do before the vehicles arrive

Plenty. Staging plans, pickup-point design, and demand mapping do not need a car in the lot. Neither do relationships with venue operations teams, city curb managers, and event promoters. The events that go smoothly on the first day of service will be the ones that were planned a year earlier. We intend to be doing that planning now.

Standards we intend to hold

• Safety at the curb. Pickup points with clear separation between vehicles and pedestrians, lighting, and staff at peak windows.
• Accessibility. Pickup points that work for riders with mobility devices, and a plan for riders who need a wheelchair-accessible vehicle.
• Good neighbors. Staging that does not push traffic onto residential streets or block emergency access.
• Honest measurement. Every pilot reports what actually happened: rides, wait times, problems. Partners see the numbers.

What we do not know yet

When vehicles will be available to operate in the Carolinas, and how many. How the state will regulate driverless service at venues. What a first event will teach us. We are stating these plainly so that a venue partner knows exactly what "first in line" means: planning together now, running together when the vehicles arrive.

Talk to us

If you organize events or operate a venue in Charlotte, Raleigh, or Wilmington, describe what you have in mind. We read every submission and reply personally.

This page is an expression of interest only. It is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Any offering would be made only to accredited investors through definitive offering documents. Robot Mercantile LLC is an independent company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Robotaxi, Cybercab, and Full Self-Driving are trademarks of Tesla, Inc.