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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Elon Musk says Tesla is “tentatively” set
to begin providing robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on June
22.
In a post on his X social media platform, Musk said the date
could change because Tesla is “being super paranoid about
safety.”
Investors, Wall Street analysts and Tesla enthusiasts have been
anticipating the rollout of the driverless cabs since Musk said
earlier this year that the service would launch in Austin
sometime in June.
Last month, Musk told CNBC that the taxis will be remotely
monitored at first and “geofenced” to certain areas of the city
deemed the safest to navigate. He said he expected to initially
run 10 or so taxis, increase that number rapidly and start
offering the service in Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Francisco
and other cities.
Musk has been promising fully autonomous, self-driving vehicles
“next year” for a decade, but the pressure is on now as Tesla
actually begins to operate a self-driving taxi service. Sales of
Tesla’s electric vehicles have sagged due to increased
competition, the retooling of its most popular car, the Model Y,
and the fallout from Musk’s turn to politics.
The Austin rollout also comes after Musk had a public blowup
with President Donald Trump over the administration’s tax bill.
Some analysts have expressed concern that Trump could retaliate
by encouraging federal safety regulators to to step in at any
sign of trouble for the robotaxis.
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