Elon Musk's Tesla robotaxi officially begins limited testing.
Finally, Tesla's autonomous robotaxi is expected to begin limited testing after years of waiting and delays.
In 2019, Musk announced that there would be driverless robotaxis on the road the following year, but that did not happen. In 2020, he also made similar promises that have yet to materialize. By January last year, Musk told investors that 'Next year for sure, we will have over 1 million robotaxis.'
Currently, Musk seems poised to test this plan with about 10 to 12 vehicles serving a small area in Austin, Texas, starting from June 22, 2025, according to Reuters. He acknowledged that achieving 1 million vehicles might take more than a year, but he expects to expand beyond Austin this year if the testing is successful.
Calls for a strong start for Tesla's robotaxi.
In a fiercely competitive market, Tesla faces numerous challenges. While Musk is still predicting plans, competitor Waymo has been operating driverless robotaxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, and many other cities. Waymo's technology uses lidar, radar, and cameras for navigation, which is more expensive but quickly available in the market. Currently, they have completed over 10 million paid rides.
Due to market share competition, Tesla's sales have declined because of boycott campaigns related to Musk's political views, while competing electric vehicle manufacturers have caught up and even surpassed them. Investors are concerned as Tesla lost up to $150 billion in market value following Musk's public disputes with President Donald Trump.
Nevertheless, Tesla's stock has somewhat regained value after Musk expressed regret over his comments. By June 2025, Tesla's stock reached $322, a significant increase from $18 in 2015.
On Wall Street, some experts remain skeptical. Garrett Nelson of CFRA commented through the Associated Press, 'The ability to scale the fleet only starts with about a dozen vehicles, which is very small.'
Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein stated, 'When people in Austin can download the app and use the robotaxi, that will be real success. But I think that is still far off, probably 2028.'
Musk pushes the robotaxi project despite an underwhelming history.
Musk often creates attention and hype. In 2018, he claimed to have 'secured funding' to take Tesla private at a high buyout price, but later was found by the government to have no written agreement, leading to penalties.
More recently, in May, Musk told CNBC that Tesla was seeing a 'strong recovery' in demand, but just days later, a European automotive group reported a sales decline of up to 50%. He was also criticized for overhyping Tesla's Full Self-Driving system capabilities, which many call inaccurate.
The driver still needs to keep their eyes focused, ready to take control in any situation. Last year, federal regulators opened an investigation following several related accidents, and the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an investigation with unclear results.
Tesla has faced numerous lawsuits regarding FSD, some of which have been settled, while others were dismissed. A court stated that the plaintiffs could not prove Musk 'intentionally' made misleading statements.
Musk asserts that the robotaxi uses an upgraded Full Self-Driving system, which is safer. He believes that the service could scale quickly thanks to millions of Teslas already on the road. An Over-the-Air update could even help vehicle owners turn their cars into autonomous taxis, earning money while parked at work or during vacations.
'Instead of letting your car sit idle, you can make money from your vehicle,' Musk said. He sees it as an Airbnb model for cars, allowing owners to add or remove vehicles from their fleet.
Tesla only uses cameras for navigation, unlike Waymo, which uses expensive lidar and radar. In a shareholder call, Musk confidently stated, 'Tesla could capture 99% of the market share or more.' However, amid competition from Waymo and giants like Amazon, complete dominance may be difficult to achieve.
Some analysts still express hope. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities believes Tesla's large scale could help them succeed. Conversely, Goldstein acknowledges that Musk has achieved many significant milestones such as selling premium EVs, launching Starlink in rural areas, or landing SpaceX's unmanned rockets on land.
Musk's policies may not be timely, but he remains a developer of outstanding futuristic technologies in the fields of cryptocurrency, technology, and automation.
Source: https://tintucbitcoin.com/tesla-robotaxi-thu-nghiem-co-anh-huong-khong/
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