Tesla is about to start a test of its long-promised robotaxi service on schedule in Austin, Texas, by the top of June, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday, at the same time as the corporate faces questions from a US regulator on safety.
The electrical vehicle maker will roll out about 10 self-driving cars in some parts of town, Musk said in an interview with CNBC, adding that robotaxi deployment would scale as much as a couple of thousand inside a couple of months.
“We are literally going to deploy to not the complete Austin region, but only the parts which are the safest. So, we are going to geofence it,” Musk said.
Shares were up lower than 1% in afternoon trading.
A successful trial shall be crucial for Tesla as Musk has pivoted the corporate’s focus away from constructing a brand new cheaper EV platform amid weakening demand to launching the robotaxi service and its Optimus humanoid robots. Much of the corporate’s valuation hangs on that bet.
“The one things that matter in the long run are autonomy and Optimus,” Musk told CNBC.
But autonomous vehicle technology has been hard to commercialize, with tight regulations and heavy investments forcing many firms to shut shop. The businesses still within the race, including Alphabet’s Waymo, have faced increased scrutiny.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating collisions involving Tesla’s full self-driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance software in reduced roadway visibility conditions since October. The road safety regulator asked Tesla last week to reply questions on its paid robotaxi service launch to evaluate how the cars will perform in poor weather.
Tesla is in talks with major automakers to license the FSD software that is anticipated to underpin its robotaxis, Musk said.
