Tesla has announced that their Robo taxi service will be going live this June in Austin, Texas. The full self driving cars will have no steering wheel, no pedals and just two seats. Many people will be apprehensive about stepping into a vehicle without any ability to control it directly, but it seems like it won’t be long until this is a completely normal phenomenon.
Elon Musk said that 2025 is, “maybe the most important year in Tesla’s history.” Talking about the Robo taxi service specifically, Elon said that “Tesla is putting our toe in the water gently at first just to make sure everything’s cool.” To prove that Teslas can have a safety record “significantly above the average human driver.” With Robotaxis rolling out and Optimus ramping up production, this really could be the biggest year ever for Tesla.
There’s a lot riding on this one. If Tesla gets this right and manages to run a successful trial, then we might see a rapid expansion of this scheme. If that happens, it’s hard to see how any other company could compete.