"Elon Musk once promised that pivoting Tesla into the self-driving taxi business would generate the automaker trillions of dollars in revenue. Certainly the enthusiasm these kinds of grand proclamations have inspired in investors has kept the company's stock buoyant, with an astonishing market cap nearing $1.5 trillion. But does the reality on the ground back it up? Not really, suggests new reporting from The New York Times."
"For one, Tesla faces steep competition from companies like Waymo that have already been in business for over a decade, and have thousands of robotaxis giving rides across major US cities. It was recently revealed, meanwhile, that Musk's company only has about 30 capital-R Robotaxis roaming Austin, Texas - the only city where it's currently offering rides to the public."
Tesla's Robotaxi program has far fewer vehicles and less public presence than competitors. Competitors like Waymo have operated for over a decade with thousands of robotaxis across major US cities. Tesla reportedly has about 30 Robotaxis in Austin, its only public deployment, and locals rarely encounter them. Tesla's vehicles are not fully driverless and require a human safety monitor onboard due to traffic-law violations and a high crash rate. Musk set aggressive targets for hundreds to thousands of Robotaxis in Austin, over a million fully autonomous Teslas by 2026, and coverage of half the US population by next year, targets that remain unmet.
Read at Futurism
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