AUSTIN, Texas — During an event for xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, he stated that the Tesla robotaxis in Austin will be fully autonomous by the end of the year.
As first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Tesla plans to have 60 robotaxis operating throughout the city, along with an app where people can schedule rides. Musk is optimistic about the autonomous nature of the vehicles.
“I think it’s pretty much a solved problem, we’re just going through validation right now,” Musk said.
Musk had originally claimed that there would be 500 robotaxis in Austin by the end of the year and 1,000 in San Francisco, according to the Statesmen.
Tesla would join Waymo as the second widely available autonomous robotaxis in the Austin area, even with skepticism about their safety on the road. Waymo vehicles have been reported not stopping for school buses in the Austin area nearly 20 times since August. In response, Waymo issued a voluntary software recall this week.
“Improving road safety is our top priority at Waymo and we’re deeply invested in safe interaction with school buses,” a Waymo representative said. “We swiftly implemented software updates to address this and will continue to rapidly improve.”
Waymo has over 100 vehicles operating in Austin with nine reported accidents, and Tesla has 15-30 vehicles operating since June with seven accidents, according to the Statesman.
