Linkedin Welcome back to the latest episode of “The Future of Automotive” on CBT News, where we put recent automotive and mobility news into the context of the broader themes impacting the industry. I’m Steve Greenfield from Automotive Ventures, and I’m glad that you could join us. This week, we’re following breaking developments in the world of autonomous vehicles — and once again, the story centers around Tesla CEO Elon Musk.  After months of hype, delays, and no shortage of bold promises, Tesla now says it will officially launch its long-promised robotaxi service in Austin, Texas — this June. Not necessarily because it’s ready… but because it has to. This all started last year, when Musk abruptly shelved Tesla’s affordable electric car project and instead pivoted to unveiling a robotaxi — an announcement that was supposed to steal the headlines. It didn’t. Sign up for CBT News’ daily newsletter and get the latest industry stories delivered straight to your inbox.  The August debut was pushed to October, and that October event? It was, frankly, a bust. No real robotaxis. Just vehicles on a closed studio lot, and guests reportedly heckling Musk about when — or if — we’d see the real thing hit the streets.  Since then, Tesla’s core EV business has taken a hit. But Musk’s repeated insistence that robotaxis are coming in June has helped keep Tesla’s stock aloft — some say artificially — at a trillion-dollar valuation. But now, with June fast approaching, missing another deadline isn’t an option. What we’ll likely see in Austin, however, isn’t the sweeping vision Musk originally pitched — fleets of fully autonomous Teslas navigating any road, anytime. Instead, expect what some in the industry are calling a “minimum viable robotaxi.” A small test fleet, operating under very tight constraints.  According to Musk, Tesla’s cars will only drive in pre-approved “safe” zones. If the software lacks confidence navigating a specific intersection, it’ll avoid it. Tesla will also use geofencing — limiting the cars to certain areas — a sharp reversal from Musk’s longtime claim that Tesla’s software could operate anywhere, without human intervention.  In Musk’s own words: “We’re going to be extremely paranoid about the deployment, as we should be.” The pilot program will reportedly launch with about 10 Model Y vehicles, monitored remotely by Tesla staff. And yes — those cars will be driving without anyone behind the wheel. Meanwhile, in a rare admission of just how far Tesla still has to go, Ashok Elluswamy, the company’s head of AI and self-driving, acknowledged Tesla is “a couple years” behind Google’s Waymo — a competitor already operating fully autonomous rides in cities like Phoenix and San Francisco.  Asked directly whether Tesla’s system is cheaper but just as good, Elluswamy replied, quote: “Equal quality. Technically, Waymo is already performing. We are maybe lagging by a couple years.” That’s a surprising shift in tone from a company — and a CEO — that’s long dismissed the competition as irrelevant. For now, Tesla remains stuck at Level 2 autonomy — that’s industry jargon for driver-assistance tech that still requires someone behind the wheel, paying full attention. So as we head into June, all eyes will be on Austin. Is this the dawn of a self-driving revolution — or just another chapter in Tesla’s long history of overpromising and underdelivering? The world will be watching. So, with that, let’s transition to Our Companies to Watch.  Every week we highlight interesting companies in the automotive technology space to keep an eye on. If you read my weekly Intel Report, we showcase a company to watch, and we take the opportunity here on this segment each week to share that company with you. Today, our new company to watch is EPIC.