In an interview with David Faber on CNBC, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that by the end of June, the electric car manufacturer will have a fleet of "robotaxis" operating in the U.S. city of Austin, Texas. He also noted that afterward, he plans to take the service to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
He indicated that the service in Austin will initially feature 10 'Model Y' vehicles, but that in a few months Tesla will expand the number to thousands, as long as no accidents are recorded.
Specifically, Musk said the following: "it's wise to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well, and then scale it up."
Since 2016, Musk has promised investors, customers, and Tesla followers that the company is "one year away" from delivering a fully functional autonomous car, capable of safely transporting passengers without human intervention or a driver.
On the other hand, Waymo, one of Tesla's main competitors in the robotaxi field, already operates commercial fleets of vehicles in various U.S. cities. The company, which is owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company, has revealed that it currently conducts 250,000 paid rides per week.
Tesla's future robotaxi launches in Austin this summer
The robotaxis will only operate in a limited area of Austin, the city that houses Tesla's headquarters. According to Musk, "actually, we will not implement it across the entire Austin region, but only in the safest areas. So we will geographically constrain it. It won't take intersections unless we are completely sure it will work well."
The success of this robotaxi test is crucial for Tesla's future. Elon Musk has redirected the company's main focus, shifting from developing a more affordable platform for electric vehicles to prioritizing the launch of robotaxis and their humanoid robots, Optimus.
The only thing that matters in the long term is autonomy and Optimus.
Elon Musk
In addition, Musk noted that Tesla is negotiating with major automakers to license its FSD software, which it plans to use in its robotaxis.
Regulatory and technological obstacles ahead
By introducing this new technology, Tesla faces significant regulatory challenges. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating collisions related to Tesla's driver assistance software in low-visibility situations.
Furthermore, the road safety regulator has requested information from Tesla about the launch of its paid robotaxi service, with the aim of assessing the vehicles' performance in adverse weather conditions.
Interestingly, in light of the recent drop in Tesla's sales due to increased competition, Musk commented that he will reduce his time on tasks related to Donald Trump to focus more on Tesla. According to his words, "my rough plan in the White House is to be there a couple of days every few weeks and be helpful in any way I can."
I leave you with this quote from William Gibson: "the future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed."
