"Elon Musk says Tesla is hitting the accelerator on its robotaxi rollout in Austin. The billionaire wrote in a post on X late on Tuesday that Tesla aims to "roughly double" the size of its robotaxi fleet in Austin next month, after some fans complained that soaring demand from new users had left the service almost unusable. It comes as Tesla races to expand its robotaxi operations and meet Musk's ambitious timelines."
"The Tesla CEO told investors last month that he wants self-driving taxis on the road in eight to 10 US metro areas by the end of the year. Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin in June and opened a ride-hailing operation in San Francisco a month later. The company's vehicles in Austin have human safety monitors in the passenger seat, while regulatory hurdles mean Tesla's Bay Area service operates with drivers ready to take the wheel."
"Tesla has not disclosed how many robotaxis it has on the road in Austin right now. A community tracker run by Austin-based robotaxi watcher Ethan McKenna estimates that the company has around 29 distinct vehicles serving autonomous rides in the city. Earlier this month, Tesla removed its waitlist for the robotaxi app and fully opened the service to the public. Since then, a number of Tesla fans have complained on X about increased wait times and shortages of available vehicles due to a deluge of new users. Despite hitting speed bumps in Austin, Tesla is continuing its robotaxi expansion at pace."
Elon Musk said Tesla plans to roughly double the Austin robotaxi fleet next month to address high demand and long wait times that left the service almost unusable for some users. Tesla launched robotaxi service in Austin in June and in San Francisco a month later. Austin vehicles include human safety monitors in the passenger seat, while Bay Area operations run with drivers due to regulatory hurdles. Musk aims for 500 robotaxis in Austin and 1,000 in the Bay Area by year-end. A community tracker estimates about 29 vehicles in Austin. Tesla removed the app waitlist, prompting increased usage and shortages, and continues rapid expansion.
Read at Business Insider
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