Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicted the corporate would have the ability to remove the safety monitors from its robotaxis “by the top of the yr.” He additionally stated Tesla would launch a robotaxi service in 8-10 new markets additionally earlier than the top of 2025.
“We expect to haven’t any security drivers in at the least giant components of Austin by the top of this yr,” Musk stated in an earnings name with traders. “So inside just a few months, we anticipate to haven’t any security drivers in any respect, at the least in components of Austin. We’re clearly being very cautious concerning the deployment.”
Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin and San Francisco embrace security screens with entry to a kill swap — a fallback that Waymo at the moment doesn’t want for its business robotaxi service. The security monitor sits within the passenger seat in Austin, and within the driver seat in San Francisco. Musk has stated that the human screens are solely there as a result of Tesla is being “paranoid about security,” and never due to some deficiency within the firm’s expertise.
“Clearly even one accident can be entrance web page headline information worldwide,” Musk added. “So it’s higher for us to take a cautious method right here.”
Musk additionally stated that he expects Tesla to be working robotaxis in 8-10 new states earlier than the top of the yr, barring no regulatory hiccups. He cited Nevada, Florida, and Arizona as amongst these future markets. It’s unclear what number of robotaxis Tesla is working in Austin; the final quantity the corporate gave to state officers was about 20. Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin have lined “greater than 1 / 4 million miles,” whereas its autos in San Francisco have pushed “greater than 1,000,000,” stated Ashok Elluswamy, VP of AI software program.
Tesla could have security screens within the autos it launches in new markets, Musk clarified. “Even when the regulators weren’t making us do it, we’d nonetheless do this as the suitable, cautious method to a brand new market.”
Beforehand, Musk had predicted that Tesla would have robotaxis obtainable to “50 %” of the US inhabitants by the top of the yr, and that Tesla prospects would have the ability to replace their very own autos to drive autonomously with out supervision by the top of 2025.