Musk aims to eliminate Tesla’s robotaxi caretakers ‘by the year’s end’

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, anticipated that the company would be capable of eliminating the safety monitors from its robotaxi fleet “by year’s end.” Furthermore, he mentioned that Tesla plans to roll out a robotaxi service in 8-10 additional locations also before the close of 2025.

“We are aiming to have no safety drivers in significant sections of Austin by this year’s end,” Musk relayed during an investor earnings call. “So within a few months, we predict having no safety drivers in any capacity, at least in some areas of Austin. We are understandably being very careful about the rollout.”

In Austin and San Francisco, Tesla’s robotaxis are equipped with safety monitors capable of activating a kill switch — a backup system that Waymo currently does not require for its commercial robotaxi operations. The safety monitor sits in the passenger seat in Austin, while in San Francisco it is located in the driver’s seat. Musk has indicated that the human monitors are in place solely because Tesla is being “overly cautious about safety,” and not due to a weakness in the technology the company employs.

“Clearly even a single accident could be global headline news,” Musk elaborated. “Thus, it is wiser for us to adopt a reserved approach here.”

Musk also stated that he foresees Tesla achieving operations of robotaxis in 8-10 new states by the year’s end, contingent on no regulatory issues. He mentioned Nevada, Florida, and Arizona as potential new markets. It remains uncertain how many robotaxis Tesla has in Austin; the last figure provided to state officials was around 20. In Austin, Tesla’s robotaxis have racked up “over a quarter million miles,” while those in San Francisco have surpassed “a million miles,” according to Ashok Elluswamy, VP of AI software.

Musk clarified that safety monitors will be present in the vehicles Tesla launches in fresh markets. “Even if regulators weren’t compelling us to do so, we would still take this cautious approach for entering a new market.”

Previously, Musk had projected that Tesla would have robotaxis accessible to “50 percent” of the US population by year’s end and that Tesla customers would be able to modify their vehicles to drive independently without supervision by the conclusion of 2025.