Tesla's robotaxi tone shifts — only 3 of 7 promised metros live, a year after 'hyper-exponential' vow
A year after Musk promised robotaxis would expand at a "hyper-exponential rate," Tesla struck a more guarded tone on the July 22 earnings call — the January investor-day pledge of 7 metro areas by end of June landed at just 3, and only partially.
According to Reuters, Musk said a year ago that Tesla's robotaxi network would expand at a "hyper-exponential rate" and reach half the U.S. population by the end of 2025. On Wednesday's Q2 earnings call, though, Musk and his executive team answered analysts' questions about the slower-than-expected rollout with a noticeably more guarded tone.
The actual pace has badly lagged the promise. In a January investor presentation, Tesla said robotaxis would expand to seven metro areas by the end of June: Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. As of Tuesday, only three — Dallas, Houston, and Miami — were actually live, and service in Houston and Miami remained limited to outlying sections. Tesla announced Tuesday it was "now in Tampa & Orlando," following several analyst notes ahead of earnings that flagged the slow expansion.
New cumulative figures were disclosed for the first time: paying customers have traveled 2.5 million miles in the robotaxi service, including 380,000 miles without an in-vehicle safety monitor.
Robotaxi is one of the pillars Tesla leans on to argue it's more than a car company, alongside Optimus and Cybercab. With the shortfall now confirmed on an earnings call rather than in analyst speculation, shareholders are likely to scrutinize future rollout guidance more skeptically.
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