Tesla's Robotaxi Dream is facing Reality

June 27, 2025 at 6:30 AM EDT

Unlike us mere mortals, time is usually on Tesla Inc.’s side. The launch of its robotaxi service this week has inverted that, and at a moment of particular weakness for the company.

When it comes to Tesla’s push for dominance in autonomous vehicles, the handful of Model Y robotaxis now offering paid rides in Austin represents a milestone. But it is also a millstone because of how Tesla is doing autonomy and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s long history of overpromising on its capabilities. Tesla’s pitch is that the vehicles it sells already have the hardware needed to be robotaxis and that its self-driving software, trained on a vast fleet of existing cars driven by unpaid beta testers, can handle virtually any situation. Yet the Austin launch has been defined less by its boundless potential and more by its boundaries, operating in a limited area, with invite-only customers and a “safety monitor” in each vehicle.