Earlier this year, Musk told investors that Tesla will launch autonomous driving technology in Austin and California this year, and will launch the Robotaxis service in Texas City in June. (The service is scheduled to be released on Model Y, not Cybercab.) Tesla has obtained permission to operate a driver’s taxi service in California, but will have to apply for some more permits and win to operate that service without a driver behind the wheel. The engineering team met with the city of Palo Alto, where its headquarters are located, according to an email obtained from public records requested by Wired. (Due to strict Texas regulations, automakers do not require additional permission to operate unmanned services in Austin.)
The success of the CyberCub, which is scheduled to enter production in 2026, is particularly important as Tesla does not appear to have many other automotive projects on the horizon. The much-anticipated, more affordable electric vehicle was downgraded last year to a modified but still cheaper version of Tesla’s popular Model Y, rather than a whole new vehicle. Last week, Reuters reported that more affordable vehicles were delayed At least by a few months.
The Robotaxi service will cause Tesla to be caught in a direct competition with Google Sister Company Waymo. Waymo has been operating paid self-driving taxi services in Metro Phoenix and San Francisco for nearly two years. (Waymo is also operating in Los Angeles and Austin, and will be available in Atlanta and Miami in the coming months.) Amazon’s Zoox is also preparing to launch service in Las Vegas and later in San Francisco.
Both Waymo and Zoox took a more measured approach to autonomous driving than Tesla, and conducted years of testing using supervising drivers behind the wheels to monitor the technology. Tesla’s “full autonomous” feature is available for an additional fee on all US cars, but the company warns that drivers must be careful of roads while using the technology. Still, the company emphasizes that this less advanced “Level 2” autonomy will bounce back to unsupervised driving.
Technology experts are questioning Tesla’s ambitious timeline. Autonomous driving watchers need to be aware of the high levels of safety and reliability required by autonomous vehicle services, and MIT research scientist Brian Raymer leads the Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium. “I think the world is wondering, can Tesla do this?” says Reimer. “And my answer is, yeah, they can probably do a demonstration with safety drivers.”
The Tesla Robotaxi service also requires a lot of work, beyond the complex technology required to run a car. “Until you actually pull out the safety driver, you don’t understand everything else they’re doing for you. Answer passenger questions, help them navigate the entire system, [navigating] “They’re working on Uber’s self-driving car project,” said Jeff Schneider, a robot researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.
With a slide deck aimed at investors, Tesla writes that it is expected to be affected by uncertainties related to “evolving trade policies.” “This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on the demand for our products in the near future,” Deck said.
Musk told investors that Tesla is the “most unaffected” car company when it comes to tariffs. “It puts us in a better position than many of our competitors,” he said. Musk said he will continue to talk to the president about tariff policies. “I will continue to defend lower tariffs, not tariffs, but that’s all I can do,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates immediately.
