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Tesla Inc. is launching its long-awaited commercial robotaxi service this upcoming June, specifically in Austin, Texas.
With expansion plans in store, CEO Elon Musk told investors that this service will be networked across the U.S. and globally.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Musk said on Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“So, we’re going to be launching unsupervised Full Self-Driving as a paid service in Austin in June,” he said.
In its financial report, Tesla reported a decline in fourth-quarter profit despite a slight increase in revenue, Automotive News reported.
Musk, admitting to past unfulfilled promises, revealed that Tesla vehicles at the company’s Fremont, California, factory are already driving autonomously—navigating off the assembly line and parking themselves in a designated holding lot.
Promising autonomous Teslas for a decade, Musk previously stated in 2019 that come 2020, there would be 1 million robotaxis on the road, Automotive News said.
Musk’s recent prediction could mark a significant change in the EV industry, shifting from generating most of its revenue from vehicle deliveries to establishing itself as the world’s leading robotaxi service, according to Automotive News.
“This is not some far-off mythical situation,” Musk said. “It’s literally five to six months away.”
After piloting its first robotaxi service in Austin this summer, Tesla aims to expand the network to major U.S. markets, including California, by year’s end, according to Musk.
He also noted that Europe and China, which face stricter regulatory hurdles than the U.S., could see autonomous Teslas by late 2026, Automotive News said.
“We’re looking for a safety level that is significantly above the average human driver,” Musk said on Jan. 29.
“The standard has to be very high because the moment there is any kind of accident with an autonomous vehicle, that’s immediately worldwide headlines,” He said.