Tesla’s Robotaxi Could Self-Drive Your Faith in Autonomous Cars Right Off a Cliff The investigation comes on the heels of another one the NHTSA opened in October 2024. This earlier probe concerns Tesla’s Full Self-Driving function, which reportedly caused crashes in low light, with one incident even killing a pedestrian. Such prominent safety concerns over the company’s autonomous capabilities cast doubt over whether its robotaxi service can safely transport anyone. Last year, Tesla laid off 10% of its workforce, which is both emblematic of a larger problem and may pose further issues. Vehicle deliveries are declining for the brand, tightening margins, and fewer staff may make it harder to roll out necessary self-driving improvements on time. Still, the newly announced June 12 launch date makes it seem like those obstacles haven’t stopped the service from rolling out for now. Despite these roadblocks, Musk says Tesla will start robotaxi production in 2026, which seems unlikely. Considering he also said he was confident in a 2020 release, it’s hard to put much stake in his claims about a release timeline. Tesla at least has prototypes already, but that’s far from a government-approved, working model. Musk’s ties to the administration and DOGE’s workforce cuts to regulators like the NHTSA could make the government approval portion less of a hurdle, but the technology’s maturity is still uncertain. And Musk’s suddenly acrimonious relationship with Trump may cause new issues for the once-favored automaker. Autonomous taxi services, as a whole, have proved challenging to scale. GM started testing self-driving cars in 2016, only to cancel the project in 2024, citing high costs and rising competition. Driverless vehicles require immense resources, and even after years of advancement, they’re still far from perfect. Tesla’s series of crashes highlights the lingering safety concerns. Of course, some robotaxi services have gotten up and running and successfully ferry passengers in some cities. However, getting approval to run these programs is a long and complex process that Tesla has only just begun. It recently obtained one necessary California permit but has reportedly not even applied for the licenses it needs from the DMV to charge customers for autonomous taxi services. Texas, though, requires no special licensing for autonomous vehicles, so a June 12 robotaxi release in Austin is still possible. Once Tesla secures regulatory approval, its robotaxi rollout may not look exactly like it suggested in its October reveal. Most notably, Musk has confirmed that it will start with existing Model Xs and Model Ys, not the sleek, trademarked-name-pending cabs it showed off at that event. Former Waymo CEO John Krafcik has criticized Tesla’s taxi design, saying it “makes it difficult for people to get in and out easily—not everyone will be able to use these robotaxi vehicles comfortably.” He even suggested Tesla’s self-driving claims may be misleading, citing “many ways to fake a robotaxi service.” Tesla has come under scrutiny before for claiming to demonstrate autonomous robots when the machines were actually remote-controlled by humans. Its robotaxis could do the same, especially considering Tesla may need a remote steering function for safety purposes. There’s a lot of uncertainty around the robotaxi release, but it seems certain it won’t be what Tesla originally showcased.