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- Between unfulfilled promises and technological shortcuts, this initiative looks more like a PR operation than a genuine revolution in autonomous mobility.
- In 2016, he claimed Tesla would complete a fully autonomous trip from Los Angeles to New York by the end of 2017.
- Vehicles observed in Austin systematically carry Tesla employees in the passenger seat, equipped with an emergency stop button and constantly monitoring the driving.
Tesla’s announced robotaxi service in Austin raises many questions. Between unfulfilled promises and technological shortcuts, this initiative looks more like a PR operation than a genuine revolution in autonomous mobility. Wondering if Tesla truly masters self-driving technology? The truth might surprise you.
A history of unfulfilled promises that raises eyebrows
Elon Musk has been making inaccurate predictions about autonomous driving for nearly a decade. In 2016, he claimed Tesla would complete a fully autonomous trip from Los Angeles to New York by the end of 2017. It’s now 2025, and this promise remains unfulfilled.
This pattern of premature announcements has become so common that it has spawned YouTube compilation videos and a dedicated Wikipedia page tracking missed deadlines. Every year, Musk predicts the arrival of unsupervised autonomous driving “by the end of the year” or “next year.” This time, he’s set a specific deadline: June 2025 for the robotaxi service launch.
As Waymo expands operations to four cities with over 200,000 paid trips weekly, Musk seems determined to maintain the illusion that Tesla leads the autonomous driving sector. He recently stated: “Nobody comes close to us. There isn’t even a close second. It’s kind of like the iPhone moment.” This claim becomes hard to defend as Waymo extends its operations, including in Austin itself.
Shifting goalposts that raise questions
Since 2016, Tesla has promised unsupervised autonomous driving for all vehicles equipped with appropriate hardware. Musk explicitly stated that customers who purchased the Full Self-Driving package could “fall asleep” at the wheel and wake up in another city.
The current Austin project differs radically from these initial promises. Tesla plans to operate its own internal fleet with dedicated software optimized for a defined geographical area of Austin, supported by “significant teleoperation.” This approach completely contrasts with the deployment of unsupervised autonomous driving in customer vehicles promised for years.
The irony lies in Musk’s own past statements: “If you need a geofenced area, you don’t have real autonomous driving.” Today, he confirms Tesla will launch the service only in a limited area of Austin, even avoiding certain intersections: “We’re going to create a geofence. The system won’t take intersections unless we’re very confident it will handle them well, otherwise it will go around.”
Insufficient testing despite safety claims
Musk claims Tesla exercises “extreme paranoia” regarding safety, but facts suggest otherwise. Waymo tested its autonomous vehicles in Austin for six months with safety drivers, then an additional six months without drivers before launching its commercial service.
Tesla, meanwhile, has tested with safety drivers for just a few months. Musk announced in late May, just weeks before the planned launch, that driverless tests had begun. Since then, only two driverless Tesla vehicles have been confirmed in public testing.
Available data reveals concerning figures. According to the most recent crowdsourced information, the Tesla HW4 system used for robotaxis shows on average one critical disengagement every 444 miles. This statistic suggests a high accident risk without an attentive driver ready to take control.
Waymo tests: 12 months including 6 without a driver before commercial launch
Tesla tests: a few months with drivers, driverless tests started in late May 2025
Critical intervention frequency: one every 444 miles on HW4 hardware
Use of teleoperation and Tesla employees in passenger seats
A PR strategy rather than technological advancement
Tesla’s approach resembles a public relations operation more than a genuine technological deployment. The company uses geofencing and teleoperation, exactly like Waymo, which Musk previously criticized by claiming these methods did not constitute “real autonomous driving.”
Tesla is still actively recruiting engineers to build a low-latency teleoperation system designed to control its “autonomous” vehicles and robots. This hiring, done days before the planned launch, reveals the system isn’t technically ready.
Vehicles observed in Austin systematically carry Tesla employees in the passenger seat, equipped with an emergency stop button and constantly monitoring the driving. Although Musk claims there’s “no safety driver,” these passengers fulfill exactly this function from the right front seat.
This strategy allows Tesla to claim it has “solved” autonomous driving while relying on the same limitations as its competitors. The difference lies in communication: where Waymo openly presents its operational constraints, Tesla maintains the illusion of technological superiority that doesn’t exist in reality.
The Austin launch ultimately represents a stylistic exercise designed to reassure Tesla shareholders rather than a true breakthrough in autonomous mobility. You can judge for yourself whether this approach constitutes significant progress or simply another promise disguised as commercial reality.
