Tesla's Robotaxi Business Is Growing. But The Hard Work Is Far From Over

"The automaker's driver-assistance software is becoming more robust, and Musk claims it's almost good enough to take the training wheels off. By the end of the year, Tesla believes it will be able to remove the safety driver from its car. Tesla says its Full Self-Driving software is finally growing up. But much like a teenager with a learner's permit, the software isn't quite ready to be left unsupervisedyet."

"During Tesla's quarterly earnings, the CEO promised that its Robotaxi fleet in Austin will have its safety drivers removed by the end of the year, barring any roadblocks from regulators. It also plans to expand its service to between 8 and 10 metro areas. Photo by: Tesla It depends on various regulatory approvals, said Musk. You can actually see most of our regulatory applications online, because they're public information. We expect to be operating in Nevada, Florida and Arizona by the end of the year."

"So far, Tesla's Robotaxi fleet has logged 250,000 miles in Texas and over a million miles in California. FSD Supervisedthe version that anyone with a Tesla can get today today for $8,000has amassed a whopping 6 billion miles driven to-date, which is an ocean of data that Tesla has been training on. That being said, it's still not enough for Musk to go full-gas on calling for the removal of safety drivers."

Tesla's Full Self-Driving software has matured toward more robust autonomous operation and is nearing capability to operate without onboard safety drivers. The company plans to remove safety drivers from its Austin robotaxi fleet by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, and to expand service to 8–10 metropolitan areas, including potential launches in Nevada, Florida, and Arizona. Robotaxi testing has produced 250,000 miles in Texas and over one million miles in California, and the consumer-accessible FSD Supervised package has accumulated roughly 6 billion miles of driving data. Safety drivers will remain during final validation.

Read at insideevs.com