Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Tesla robotaxi

• Tesla’s robotaxi will almost certainly face safety and regulatory questions before it comes to market.
• Tesla’s Autopilot has faced scrutiny, with recalls and safety concerns from regulators.
• Waymo and Cruise have also encountered regulatory challenges with their autonomous vehicles.

 and probes by regulators regarding Autopilot, its partial vehicle automation system.

Alphabet’s Waymo was also investigated by the NHTSA earlier this year over reports its robotaxis were potentially violating traffic safety laws and displaying “unexpected behavior.”

And General Motors’ Cruise subsidiary got in hot water with regulators last year after several safety accidents. The company lost its permit to operate in California after a pedestrian was dragged for 20 feet beneath one of its driverless vehicles after it ran her over.

Posting on X on Thursday before the launch event, former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt laid out the challenges that Tesla would face.

“Autonomy is the fastest and most effective way to eliminate car accidents, and we desperately need this,” he wrote.

“I don’t know what we will see tonight. What I know is that it takes a non-trivial amount of work to go from making a car mostly drive without interventions to safe, robust, and legally compliant robotaxi network that meshes well with local communities,” he added.