Tesla readies for possible robotaxi launch in test for Elon Musk’s autonomous driving ambitions

Published on 20/06/2025 - 17:09 GMT+2

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said nationalist rides of his company’s first robotaxi mightiness beryllium disposable arsenic early arsenic June 22 successful nan metropolis of Austin, Texas. 

Musk said connected his societal media platformX that nan day could displacement because nan institution is “being ace paranoid astir safety.” 

Some X users reported that they were invited to beryllium immoderate of nan first to usage nan robotaxi connected its motorboat this weekend. The Cybercab, nan sanction for Tesla’s robotaxi, had besides been spotted adjacent Austin, Texas, earlier this month. Euronews Next has reached retired to Tesla to corroborate whether nan motorboat is still happening but did not person a consequence astatine nan clip of publication.

The motorboat could travel contempt a group of Democratic Texas lawmakers asking Tesla to delay nan robotaxi debut “in nan champion liking of some nationalist information and building nationalist spot successful Tesla’s operations”. 

Is nan Cybercab ready?

Crijn Bouman, CEO of Rocsys, a institution that develops work infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, told Euronews Next that Tesla’s imaginable motorboat is important because it “will emphasise that nan robotaxi is real.” 

“It will travel pinch nan realisation that… autonomous driving conscionable works,” he said.  “It’s difficult to opportunity whether [Tesla is] fresh aliases not, but everybody’s excited and for judge everyone will beryllium watching”. 

For Tesla’s motorboat to beryllium successful, Bouman said nan institution will person to person not only nan robotaxi fresh but besides each of nan infrastructure astir it. 

That intends scaling up to “1000” vehicles, a “couple dozen” work hubs to cleanable and complaint nan cars and uncovering regular attraction services for them, he added. 

The company, which utilized to “control nan narrative” connected autonomous vehicles, is now facing title from Waymo, nan first institution successful North America to standard up a robotaxi business, Bouman said. 

“If nan full cognition isn’t included, they won't beryllium adjacent to Waymo astatine all,” he said, noting that Waymo Rideshare sends a safe, cleanable robotaxi to a pickup location successful 5 minutes. 

“We apt won’t spot that connected [Sunday]”. 

Might not beryllium capable to ‘turn nan tide’ of nationalist opinion

The Cybercab’s imaginable motorboat comes astatine a difficult clip for Tesla arsenic stocks person plummeted complete nan past six months withfactories and Cybertrucks   being vandalised. 

Tesla is besides facing an investigation from nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) successful nan US aft nan company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) strategy was allegedly progressive successful aggregate crashes, including 1 wherever a pedestrian was killed. 

Bouman doesn’t judge that an eventual robotaxi motorboat will “turn nan tide” of nationalist sentiment towards Tesla unless nan institution starts to beryllium much transparent. 

“You person to show that nan work is really moving astatine scale… usually nan barroom is that a robotaxi has to beryllium 10 times much safe than a quality driver to summation nan spot of nan public,” he said.

 “[Tesla] has to show that [with] … a 3rd statement study connected nan data”.