Tesla has been promising unsupervised self-driving for a decade, moving the goalposts several times along the way. Now, CEO Elon Musk has given the most specific timeline yet for when "eyes-off" autonomous cars will actually roll out. The billionaire CEO announced on Wednesday's Q4 2024 earnings call that Tesla's autonomous ride-hailing service will begin in June, starting in Austin. It sounded a lot like what Waymo began doing back in 2021: A cautious roll-out of Level 4 robotaxis in select areas with plans to gradually scale-up. Tesla says it will expand to other U.S. cities by the end of this year and go nationwide in 2026. It's one of Musk's many bold promises, but the questions still loom: Will Tesla deliver on time as promised? And, most importantly, will these robotaxis be safe? —Suvrat Kothari, Staff Writer |