Tesla’s Robotaxi: Big Promises, Big Risks?

Tesla is planning to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas—but is it really ready? While Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, says they’re “super paranoid” about safety, many experts believe the company is rushing to impress, instead of focusing on real progress.

A History of Missed Promises

Since 2016, Musk has promised that Teslas would drive themselves across the U.S. without any help from a driver. He predicted a fully self-driving trip from Los Angeles to New York by 2017. It’s now 2025—and that still hasn’t happened. Every year, Musk claims full self-driving is just around the corner. But so far, it hasn’t become reality.

The Austin Robotaxi Launch

Musk says June is the target for Tesla’s robotaxi launch in Austin. But here’s the catch: these cars will only work in certain parts of the city. They’ll avoid tricky intersections, stick to safe routes, and rely on human operators who can take control remotely if needed.

This approach is very different from what Musk once promised—cars that could drive anywhere, anytime, without any help. In fact, Musk used to say that if you need to limit where the car drives (using something called “geofencing”), that means it’s not true self-driving.

Playing Catch-Up

Other companies, like Waymo, are way ahead. Waymo already offers over 200,000 paid rides each week in multiple cities, including Austin. Tesla’s plan looks like an attempt to catch up—and fast.

Is It Really Safe?

Tesla says it’s focused on safety, but details are scarce. Unlike Waymo, which spent a year testing in Austin (six months with safety drivers, six months without), Tesla only tested with safety drivers for a few months before starting driverless tests.

People in Austin have only spotted two driverless Teslas on the road so far. And even those had employees in the passenger seat with a kill switch—ready to stop the car if needed.

We also don’t know how often these cars need human help. Tesla doesn’t share this data, and they’re even fighting in court to keep crash records private. What we do know is that crowdsourced data suggests Tesla’s system may need human intervention about every 444 miles—far from the “solved problem” Musk claims.