--- title: "Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Is Already an Enormous Mess" description: "As Tesla prepares the slated June launch of its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, there's a pretty big elephant in the room." date: "2025-05-19" modified: "2025-05-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-robotaxi-launch-mess" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "fsd" - "robotaxi" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Is Already an Enormous Mess ![As Tesla prepares the slated June launch of its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, there's a pretty big elephant in the room.]() *\Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images\* ## Failure to Launch As Tesla prepares for the [slated June launch]() of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, there's a pretty big elephant in the room: that its [autonomous driving services]() leave a lot to be desired. As [*Forbes* reports](), the [serious safety concerns]() surrounding Tesla's so-called "Full Self-Driving" may result in CEO Elon Musk's robotaxi service being dead on arrival. "It's going to fail for sure," billionaire and longtime Tesla critic Dan O'Dowd told *Forbes*. Along with founding defense and aerospace contractor Green Hills Software, O'Dowd established a nonprofit, The Dawn Project, whose main purpose is [warning the public]() about the dangers of unproven self-driving tech, particularly Tesla's FSD, and lobbying against its legality. Still, he's done some of his own research to reach his Tesla-negative stance. "We drove it around Santa Barbara for 80 minutes, and there were seven failures," he told *Forbes*. "If there had not been a driver sitting in the driver's seat, it would’ve hit something." ## Highway To Hell It's not just O'Dowd questioning Musk's plans to launch a driverless ride-hailing service in Austin. As [*Electrek* reports,]() the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tapped Tesla earlier this week to release its FSD data ahead of the robotaxi launch next month. The agency — which is [investigating Tesla]() for several safety defects — became concerned that the robotaxi launch may use FSD, which has proven to be quite dangerous. "The agency would like to gather additional information about Tesla’s development of technologies for use in 'robotaxi' vehicles," wrote Tanya Topka, the NHTSA's defect investigation investigator, in an email obtained by *Electrek, "t*o understand how Tesla plans to evaluate its vehicles and driving automation technologies for use on public roads." Around the time that the NHTSA letter was revealed, [*The Information* reported]() that as of April, Tesla had not yet started testing its autonomous cabs without safety drivers. ## Outstanding Questions As *Forbes* notes, there's still a lot we don't know about the Robotaxi launch, including when exactly it will happen and how it will operate. Neither Tesla nor the city of Austin has been very open about those plans with the media, and the only thing anyone has gleaned so far about it is that it will be much more limited than expected, with a maximum of [20 self-driving Model Ys]() trawling specific areas of the Texas capital. With all that uncertainty, one would not blame Musk for pushing back the robotaxi launch — but if history is to [once again repeat itself](), he won't give up the ghost until the very last second. **More on Robotaxis:** [*Elon Musk's "Robotaxis" Have a Dirty Secret*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()