Elon Musk's Tesla begins robotaxi service in Texas
Tesla boss Elon Musk appears to be on the verge of making his robotaxi vision a reality with a test run of a small squad of self-driving cabs in Austin, Texas, that began Sunday.
However, for the moment, it is just a small fleet of around 10 vehicles.
Reaching a million robotaxis may take a year or more, although the billionaire should be able to expand the service this year if the Austin demo is a success.
The stakes couldn't be higher, nor the challenges.
While Musk was making those 'next year' promises, rival Waymo was busy deploying driverless taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin and other cities by using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It just completed its 10 millionth paid ride.
Boycotts related to Musk's politics have tanked Tesla's sales. Rival electric vehicle makers with newly competitive models have stolen market share. And investors are on edge after a $150 billion (€130 billion) stock wipeout when Musk picked a social media fight with a US president overseeing federal car regulators who could make the robotaxi rollout much more difficult. The stock has recovered somewhat after Musk said he regretted some of his remarks.
Tesla shareholders have stood by Musk over the years because he's defied the odds by building a successful standalone electric vehicle company — self-driving car promises aside — and making them a lot of money in the process. A decade ago, Tesla shares traded for around $18 (over €15). The shares closed Friday at $322.
Musk seemed jubilant Sunday morning, posting on X, 'The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin this afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!'
The test is beginning modestly enough. Tesla is remotely monitoring the vehicles and putting a person in the passenger seat in case of trouble. The number of Teslas deployed will also be small — just 10 or 12 vehicles — and will only pick up passengers in a limited, geofenced area.
Musk has vowed that the service will quickly spread to other cities, eventually reaching hundreds of thousands, if not a million vehicles next year.
Big promises
Some Musk watchers on Wall Street are sceptical.
'How quickly can he expand the fleet?' asks Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA. 'We're talking maybe a dozen vehicles initially. It's very small".
Morningstar's Seth Goldstein says Musk is being classic Musk: Promising too much, too quickly.
'When anyone in Austin can download the app and use a robotaxi, that will be a success, but I don't think that will happen until 2028," he says. 'Testing is going to take a while.'
Musk's tendency to push up the stock high with a bit of hyperbole is well known among investors.
In 2018, he told Tesla stockholders he had 'funding secured' to buy all their shares at a massive premium and take the company private. But he not only lacked a written commitment from financiers, according to federal stock regulators who fined him, he hadn't discussed the loan amount or other details with them.
More recently, Musk told CNBC in May that Tesla was experiencing a 'major rebound' in demand. A week later, an auto trade group in Europe announced sales had plunged by half.
Musk has come under fire for allegedly exaggerating the ability of the system used for its cars to drive themselves, starting with the name. Full Self-Driving is a misnomer. The system still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road because they may need to intervene and take control at any moment.
Federal highway safety regulators opened an investigation into FSD last year after several accidents, and the Department of Justice has conducted its own probe, though the status of that is not known. Tesla has also faced lawsuits over the feature, some resulting in settlements, others dismissed. In one case, a judge ruled against the plaintiffs but only because they hadn't proved Musk 'knowingly' made false statements.
Musk says the robotaxis will be running on an improved version of Full Self-Driving and the cabs will be safe.
He also says the service will be able to expand rapidly around the country. His secret weapon: Millions of Tesla owners now on the roads. He says an over-the-air software update will soon allow them to turn their cars into driverless cabs and start a side business while stuck at the office for eight hours or on vacation for a week.
'Instead of having your car sit in the parking lot, your car could be earning money,' Musk said earlier this year, calling it an Airbnb model for cars. 'You will be able to add or subtract your car to the fleet'.
What is Tesla doing differently?
Musk says Tesla also can move fast to deploy taxis now because of his decision to rely only on cameras for the cars to navigate, unlike Waymo, which has gone a more expensive route by supplementing its cameras with lasers and radar.
'Tesla will have, I don't know,' Musk mused in a conference call with investors, '99 per cent market share or something ridiculous.' Given Waymo's head start and potential competition from Amazon and others, dominating the driverless market to that extent could be a reach.
But Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst and big Musk fan, says this time Musk may actually pull it off because of Tesla's ability to scale up quickly. And even sceptics like Morningstar's Goldstein acknowledge that Musk occasionally does get things right, and spectacularly so.
He upended the car industry by getting people to buy expensive electric vehicles, brought his Starlink satellite internet service to rural areas and, more recently, performed a gee-whiz trick of landing an unmanned SpaceX rocket on a platform back on earth.
'Maybe his timelines aren't realistic," Goldstein says, 'but he can develop futuristic technology products'.
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Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Elon Musk's Tesla begins robotaxi service in Texas
Tesla boss Elon Musk appears to be on the verge of making his robotaxi vision a reality with a test run of a small squad of self-driving cabs in Austin, Texas, that began Sunday. However, for the moment, it is just a small fleet of around 10 vehicles. Reaching a million robotaxis may take a year or more, although the billionaire should be able to expand the service this year if the Austin demo is a success. The stakes couldn't be higher, nor the challenges. While Musk was making those 'next year' promises, rival Waymo was busy deploying driverless taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin and other cities by using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It just completed its 10 millionth paid ride. Boycotts related to Musk's politics have tanked Tesla's sales. Rival electric vehicle makers with newly competitive models have stolen market share. And investors are on edge after a $150 billion (€130 billion) stock wipeout when Musk picked a social media fight with a US president overseeing federal car regulators who could make the robotaxi rollout much more difficult. The stock has recovered somewhat after Musk said he regretted some of his remarks. Tesla shareholders have stood by Musk over the years because he's defied the odds by building a successful standalone electric vehicle company — self-driving car promises aside — and making them a lot of money in the process. A decade ago, Tesla shares traded for around $18 (over €15). The shares closed Friday at $322. Musk seemed jubilant Sunday morning, posting on X, 'The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin this afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!' The test is beginning modestly enough. Tesla is remotely monitoring the vehicles and putting a person in the passenger seat in case of trouble. The number of Teslas deployed will also be small — just 10 or 12 vehicles — and will only pick up passengers in a limited, geofenced area. Musk has vowed that the service will quickly spread to other cities, eventually reaching hundreds of thousands, if not a million vehicles next year. Big promises Some Musk watchers on Wall Street are sceptical. 'How quickly can he expand the fleet?' asks Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA. 'We're talking maybe a dozen vehicles initially. It's very small". Morningstar's Seth Goldstein says Musk is being classic Musk: Promising too much, too quickly. 'When anyone in Austin can download the app and use a robotaxi, that will be a success, but I don't think that will happen until 2028," he says. 'Testing is going to take a while.' Musk's tendency to push up the stock high with a bit of hyperbole is well known among investors. In 2018, he told Tesla stockholders he had 'funding secured' to buy all their shares at a massive premium and take the company private. But he not only lacked a written commitment from financiers, according to federal stock regulators who fined him, he hadn't discussed the loan amount or other details with them. More recently, Musk told CNBC in May that Tesla was experiencing a 'major rebound' in demand. A week later, an auto trade group in Europe announced sales had plunged by half. Musk has come under fire for allegedly exaggerating the ability of the system used for its cars to drive themselves, starting with the name. Full Self-Driving is a misnomer. The system still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road because they may need to intervene and take control at any moment. Federal highway safety regulators opened an investigation into FSD last year after several accidents, and the Department of Justice has conducted its own probe, though the status of that is not known. Tesla has also faced lawsuits over the feature, some resulting in settlements, others dismissed. In one case, a judge ruled against the plaintiffs but only because they hadn't proved Musk 'knowingly' made false statements. Musk says the robotaxis will be running on an improved version of Full Self-Driving and the cabs will be safe. He also says the service will be able to expand rapidly around the country. His secret weapon: Millions of Tesla owners now on the roads. He says an over-the-air software update will soon allow them to turn their cars into driverless cabs and start a side business while stuck at the office for eight hours or on vacation for a week. 'Instead of having your car sit in the parking lot, your car could be earning money,' Musk said earlier this year, calling it an Airbnb model for cars. 'You will be able to add or subtract your car to the fleet'. What is Tesla doing differently? Musk says Tesla also can move fast to deploy taxis now because of his decision to rely only on cameras for the cars to navigate, unlike Waymo, which has gone a more expensive route by supplementing its cameras with lasers and radar. 'Tesla will have, I don't know,' Musk mused in a conference call with investors, '99 per cent market share or something ridiculous.' Given Waymo's head start and potential competition from Amazon and others, dominating the driverless market to that extent could be a reach. But Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst and big Musk fan, says this time Musk may actually pull it off because of Tesla's ability to scale up quickly. And even sceptics like Morningstar's Goldstein acknowledge that Musk occasionally does get things right, and spectacularly so. He upended the car industry by getting people to buy expensive electric vehicles, brought his Starlink satellite internet service to rural areas and, more recently, performed a gee-whiz trick of landing an unmanned SpaceX rocket on a platform back on earth. 'Maybe his timelines aren't realistic," Goldstein says, 'but he can develop futuristic technology products'.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Tesla expected to launch long-discussed robotaxi service
The launch -- which comes as Musk refocuses on his business ventures following a controversial stint in Donald Trump's administration -- will employ the Model Y sport utility vehicle rather than Tesla's much-touted Cybercab, which is still under development. The long-awaited launch follows the dramatic meltdown earlier this month in relations between Musk and Trump, which saw a cascade of bitter attacks from both men. Since then, Musk has publicly expressed regret for some of his statements, while his company's Texas operation has readied the Austin push -- part of a major drive on autonomous technology and artificial intelligence that Tesla bulls believe will yield huge profits. This group includes Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who said autonomous technology could be a catalyst for potentially $1 trillion in additional market value or more. "There are countless skeptics of the Tesla robotaxi vision with many bears thinking this day would never come," said Ives, who predicted that Trump's administration would clear roadblocks for Tesla and pivot from the recent "soap opera." "The golden era of autonomous for Tesla officially kicks off on Sunday in Austin," Ives said in a note Friday. Business-friendly Texas But the unveiling in the Texas state capital comes amid questions about how Tesla will try to overcome criticism of Musk's activities for Trump. Tesla saw profits plunge 71 percent in the first quarter following poor sales in several markets. In picking Austin for the debut of the autonomous vehicle (AV) service, Musk is opting for a US state known for its company-friendly approach to regulation. "Texas law allows for AV testing and operations on Texas roadways as long as they meet the same safety and insurance requirements as every other vehicle on the road," the Texas Department of Transportation told AFP. An Austin website listed six autonomous vehicle companies at various stages of operation: ADMT (Volkswagen), AVRide, Tesla, Zoox (Amazon), Motional (Hyundai) and Waymo (Alphabet/Google). But the Texas legislature this year enacted a new bill that requires prior authorization from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles before companies can operate on a public street without human drivers, a group of seven Democratic lawmakers said in a June 18 letter to Tesla. Citing the enhanced system, the lawmakers asked Tesla to delay testing until after the law takes effect September 1. If Tesla proceeds with the launch this weekend, "we request that you respond to this letter with detailed information demonstrating that Tesla will be compliant with the new law," the letter said. Starting slow Musk had initially planned the launch for June 12, before pushing back, saying he was being "super paranoid" about safety. "We want to deliberately take it slow," Musk said in a May 20 interview on CNBC, telling the network that Tesla would probably only operate 10 autonomous vehicles the first week. But that number will rise to perhaps 1,000 "within a few months," Musk told CNBC. "And then we will expand to other cities.... San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Antonio." The service will be offered from 6:00 am until midnight and will be available to "early access" users on an invitation-only basis in a geofenced area, Tesla owner Sawyer Merritt said Friday on Musk's X platform, adding that Tesla had given him permission to release the information. Musk last fall unveiled the Cybercab, which has no steering wheel or pedals. But production is not expected to begin on the vehicle until 2026. Tesla's robotaxi launch comes well after Waymo's offering of commercial robotaxi service, with more US cities gradually added. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in October 2024 opened a probe into Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after receiving four reports of crashes. The NHTSA on May 8 asked Tesla for additional information on its technology in light of the Austin launch. But the NHTSA does not "pre-approve" new technologies, the agency told AFP. "Rather, manufacturers certify that each vehicle meets NHTSA's rigorous safety standards, and the agency investigates incidents involving potential safety defects," the NHTSA said. © 2025 AFP
LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
The French government is stepping in to rescue Eutelsat
On Friday, June 20, President Emmanuel Macron is expected at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget and aims to make the event a turning point for France and Europe's space strategy. "We are witnessing a dramatic acceleration of the space sector" that "is being privatized at breakneck speed with extremely ambitious projects, especially from the Americans, but also from Chinese players." It is also "becoming militarized very, very quickly," explained an Élysée adviser ahead of the president's midday speech from the "Paris Space Hub" – the Le Bourget hall devoted entirely to the sector. The war in Ukraine has highlighted Europe's dependence on Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite communications network. "Europe needs to "act independently, not be dependent on external solutions," the Élysée acknowledged. In this context, the government announced on June 19 that it would strengthen the state's stake in Eutelsat, the French satellite operator whose low-Earth orbit constellation is, for now, the only viable European alternative to Starlink. To achieve this, France's State Participation Agency (APE, the government's shareholdings agency) will take a major share in Eutelsat's €1.35 billion capital increase; the APE alone will contribute €717 million. At the same time, it will purchase the 13.6% stake currently held by Bpifrance, bringing its total holding to 29.9% – just below the threshold that would trigger a mandatory takeover bid for the entire company.
