After Tesla’s profit sliding, the pressure is for Cybercab

Earlier this year, Musk told investors that Tesla will launch autonomous driving technology in Austin and California this year, launching the Robotaxi service in Texas City in June. (The service is planned to launch with Model Y rather than with Cybercabs.) Since then, Tesla has received permission to operate a taxi service in California, although it will have to apply and win several more permits to operate this service without drivers behind the wheel. He went into conversations with the city of Palo Alto, where his engineering teams are headquartered to end up offering a ride there, according to the emails received through public records requested by Wired. (Due to the less strict regulations of Texas, the car does not need additional permits or government write-off to drive a service without a driver in Austin.)

The success of Cybercab, which is due to enter into production in 2026, is especially important because Tesla does not seem to have many other car projects on the horizon. The long-awaited, more accessible electric vehicle was reduced last year to a modified but still cheaper version of the popular Tesla model, not a whole new vehicle. Last week, Reuters reported that the more accessible vehicle had been delayed by at least a few months.

The Robotaxi service puts Tesla in direct competition with Google Sister Company Waymo, which manages a paid, self -governing taxi service at Metro Phoenix and in San Francisco for nearly two years. (Waymo also works in Los Angeles and Austin and will be launched in Atlanta and Miami in the coming months.) Amazon Zoox is also preparing to start a service in Las Vegas and later San Francisco.

Both Waymo and Zoox have taken more weary approaches to self-driving than Tesla, with years of testing drivers behind the wheel to observe the technology. The Tesla Full Self -Government feature is available in all its cars in the United States for an additional fee, but the company warns that drivers still need to pay attention to the road while using their technologies. However, the company stressed that it would jump from this less advanced, « level 2 » autonomy to a complete unattended driving.

Technology experts have questioned the ambitious Tesla deadlines. Independent observers should take into account the high levels of safety and reliability required by an autonomous vehicle service, says Brian Raim, a MIT researcher who runs the consortium for advanced vehicles that unites industry experts and scientists to study how people interact with automated driving functions. « I think the world is wondering, can Tesla do this? » says Raimer. « And my answer is, yes, they can do some demonstration, probably with a safety driver. »

The Tesla Robotaxi service will also need a lot of work beyond even the complex technology needed to make cars go. « Until you actually take out the safety driver, you don’t realize all the other things they did for you: to answer questions about the passenger by helping them to navigate the whole system (navigating) to lift and drop off, » says Jeff Schneider, a Robotics researcher at the University of Carnegi.

In a slide for investors, Tesla writes that he expects to be influenced by the uncertainty related to the « evolving trade policy », which the company says will probably affect both the global supply chain of Tesla and what it spends to build its products. « This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a significant impact on the search for our products in the short term, » the deck said.

Musk told investors that Tesla is still the « most affected » car company in terms of tariffs, as such a large part of the company’s vehicle’s stock has been made and assembled in the US. « This puts us in a better position than many of our competitors, » he said. Musk said he would continue to talk to the president about tariff policy. « I will continue to advocate for a lower tariffs, not higher tariffs, but that’s all I can do, » he said.

This is a developing story. Check again for updates.