Industry experts suggest that it could take at least eight months for Tesla to gain approval for a robotaxi service, and the company has already lost a considerable amount of goodwill that could be crucial for launching a driverless taxi business. This announcement raises questions about whether Tesla has a viable plan to launch a robotaxi in less than four months or if this is another attempt by Musk to boost investor morale.
Key takeaways:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the unveiling of a 'robotaxi' on 8/8, but no US agency that regulates robotaxis has been informed of any impending driverless services from Tesla.
- Despite Tesla's progress in developing autonomous car tech, the company's Full Self-Driving add-on has drawn scrutiny from regulators, potentially hindering the establishment of a robotaxi service.
- Musk has been unsuccessful in licensing the self-driving software to other carmakers, with Tesla currently under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Justice Department.
- Despite Musk's confident predictions in 2019 of having over one million robotaxis on the road by 2020, this has not come to fruition, casting doubt on his latest robotaxi announcement.