When Will Elon Musk’s Robotaxi Launch?
Tesla driverless car teleoperation technology
Tesla, the electric car manufacturer owned by Elon Musk, has begun testing the functionality of its self-driving robotaxi in Austin, Texas, USA. If everything goes well, the company may fully launch the driverless robotaxi service on June 12. Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared on X (formerly Twitter) that Model Y vehicles have been running without drivers in Austin for several days without any accidents. Notably, the robotaxi has no steering wheel or pedals and can be rented as an autonomous taxi.
News agency Bloomberg reported that Tesla aims to officially launch its robotaxi service by June 12, though the date may change. The company’s owner, Elon Musk, has been promising a driverless robotaxi for many years. In 2022, he stated that Tesla’s robotaxi would hit the roads by mid-2024.
Recently, Fortune magazine reported that local and government agencies in Austin have yet to receive the necessary safety guidelines or training from Tesla. In particular, they have not been given any instructions on how to rescue passengers in the event of a robotaxi accident.
Electric vehicle (EV) website Electrek has reported that Tesla’s driverless cars will use ‘teleoperation’ technology. This allows a human operator to remotely control the vehicle even if no one is inside. However, experts say that before launching driverless cars, months of experimental road testing are conducted, and a safety record of covering hundreds of thousands of miles must be established. Given this, questions remain about how effective Tesla’s few days of testing will be.
