Tesla officially kicked off its long-awaited robotaxi service on Sunday in Austin, Texas, marking the first step toward a future where self-driving rides could be as common as hailing a cab.
Instead of the teased Cybercab, the initial fleet features Model Y SUVs retrofitted with Tesla's autonomous driving suite. This pragmatic choice lets the company learn in real-world conditions while it continues to refine its next-generation vehicle.
On X, Elon Musk celebrated the culmination of a decade of hard work, thanking Tesla AI software and chip design teams for the successful launch. The rollout also follows a very public fallout with the U.S. president and Musk's later regrets over the exchange.
Tesla's Texas operation has been gearing up for weeks as part of a broader push on artificial intelligence and self-driving technology – areas where the automaker sees a potential gold mine.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives predicts that autonomous services could add $1 trillion or more in market value to Tesla. While skeptics remain, many now wonder if this robotaxi debut will indeed trigger Tesla's next growth wave.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
