Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Tesla's Robotaxi Falls Short With Long Waits and Stalled Rides
When Elon Musk kicked off Tesla Inc.’s quarterly earnings call in July 2025, robotaxis were top of mind. The carmaker had just launched its automated ride-hailing service several weeks earlier in Austin, to glowing early reviews from the hand-picked crop of initial riders.
“We’ve already expanded our service area in Austin,” the chief executive officer said. Tesla was planning to grow further in the city and quickly spread to California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. “We’ll probably have autonomous ride-hailing in about half the population of the US by the end of the year.”
Almost a year later, Tesla has just 59 vehicles in its entire robotaxi fleet as of Tuesday, limited to three Texas cities.
..............
The diminutive fleet figure, which Tesla hadn’t disclosed until new regulations made it public last month, is a sobering reminder of the real-world limitations of Musk’s hype machine. At a time when Tesla’s carmaking business is mired in a multiyear decline, the company’s market value has soared to new highs almost exclusively on the billionaire CEO’s fantastical promises of a future in which all cars will drive themselves and robots will babysit the kids. It’s all right around the corner, he says.
“We’ve already expanded our service area in Austin,” the chief executive officer said. Tesla was planning to grow further in the city and quickly spread to California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. “We’ll probably have autonomous ride-hailing in about half the population of the US by the end of the year.”
Almost a year later, Tesla has just 59 vehicles in its entire robotaxi fleet as of Tuesday, limited to three Texas cities.
..............
The diminutive fleet figure, which Tesla hadn’t disclosed until new regulations made it public last month, is a sobering reminder of the real-world limitations of Musk’s hype machine. At a time when Tesla’s carmaking business is mired in a multiyear decline, the company’s market value has soared to new highs almost exclusively on the billionaire CEO’s fantastical promises of a future in which all cars will drive themselves and robots will babysit the kids. It’s all right around the corner, he says.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-06-10/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-totals-just-59-vehicles-despite-musk-promises
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
