Tesla Eyes June Launch for Robotaxis Amid Decline in Sales
Automotive manufacturer Tesla is reportedly rolling out trials of its ridesharing service, giving employees access, as it looks to expand that service later this year.
In a Wednesday (April 23) post on X, Tesla shared a video of passengers hailing and riding in one of its vehicles, as a driver sat in the front.
FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area.
We’ve completed over 1.5k trips & 15k miles of driving.
This service helps us develop & validate FSD networks, the mobile app, vehicle allocation, mission control &… pic.twitter.com/pYVfhi935W
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 23, 2025
According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, the ride-hailing service uses a suite of features Tesla has dubbed full self-driving. Despite the name, the cars still require continual driver supervision, and that doesn’t make its vehicles autonomous.
Citing an earnings call where executives spoke with investors, Bloomberg said Tesla is planning on unveiling a driverless version of the software that will still be supervised remotely.
“It’ll start in Austin with 10 to 20 Model Y vehicles before scaling further, with plans to add other cities and vehicle models to the fleet,” Bloomberg reported.
Tesla also plans to eventually use a purpose-built two-seater vehicle called a Cybercab, which has no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle is expected to undergo large-scale production next year, per the report.
Tesla executives also discussed the company’s sluggish sales. The company reported its worst quarter in years. In response, CEO Elon Musk said he plans to pull back “significantly” from his work with the U.S. government to refocus on the automotive firm.
“There’s been some blowback for time that I’ve been spending in government with … DOGE,” Musk said.
The CEO had faced criticism for not paying enough attention to Tesla amid his increased involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other political activities.
“His alliance with President Trump also brought dismay to many consumers, which has depressed Tesla demand and ignited acts of vandalism against some Tesla dealerships,” PYMNTS reported Tuesday (April 22).
Tesla’s shares have fallen 41% year to date and it has gone through many crises and “near-death experiences,” Musk said. “This is not one of those times. We’re not on the ragged edge of death — not even close.”
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