Musk says robotaxi plan on monitor, trial to start in Texas by June-end – Firstpost

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has introduced that the testing of the long-promised robotaxi service will start in Texas by the tip of June, as the corporate tries to regain its dominance within the EV sector following a stoop.

Musk informed CNBC that Tesla will initially roll out almost 10 self-driving vehicles for trials in some components of Austin, Texas and scale up operations to a thousand within the coming months.

“We are literally going to deploy to not your complete Austin area, however solely the components which can be the most secure,” he mentioned.

Tesla’s international gross sales have declined amid rising competitors and backlash towards Musk over his right-wing political beliefs and his affiliation with US President Donald Trump.

A profitable robotaxi trial is essential for Tesla as Musk has shifted the corporate’s focus away from constructing a brand new, cheaper EV platform to launching the robotaxi service and its Optimus humanoid robots. A lot of Tesla’s valuation hangs on that wager.

What are the challenges?

Whereas Musk reiterates that Tesla’s plan is on monitor, US auto security investigators requested Tesla to reply questions on its plans to launch the robotaxi service to be able to assess how the electrical car maker’s vehicles with full self-driving expertise will carry out in poor climate.

Earlier this month, the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration mentioned it has been investigating Tesla full self-driving collisions in diminished roadway visibility situations since October.

NHTSA mentioned it’s in search of extra details about Tesla’s growth of robotaxis “to evaluate the power of Tesla’s system to react appropriately to diminished roadway visibility situations” as effectively particulars on robotaxi deployment plans and the expertise getting used.

Will the robotaxi redeem Tesla’s picture?

Musk has mentioned he expects autonomous driving expertise will start to “have an effect on the underside line of the corporate, and begin to be basic” by the second half of 2026.

“I predict that there will likely be hundreds of thousands of Teslas working totally autonomously within the second half of subsequent yr,” he mentioned.

With inputs from businesses