Tesla is planning to expand its Robotaxi service to “a dozen or so states” by the end of the year, CEO Elon Musk told investors during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, April 22.
“We’re taking a very cautious approach to the rollout here,” Musk told investors in response to a question about when Tesla’s Robotaxi service would expand beyond its current locations in Texas and California. “We have had no injuries and certainly no fatalities to date with the unsupervised FSD and robotaxi expansion. We want to keep it that way.”
Musk added: “I think probably unsupervised FSD or robotaxi revenue will not be super material this year. But I do think it will be material — probably in a significant way — next year.”
The comments came as Tesla announced in an X post that it is expanding its Robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston ahead of the first-quarter earnings call.
How Does Tesla’s Robotaxi Work?
Tesla says rides in its Robotaxis can be ordered using a cell phone app similar to the ones riders use to search for Uber and Lyft rides.
“We’re bringing autonomous rides to you today — starting with Model Y,” Tesla said in a post on its website. “To get started, download the Robotaxi app.”
Riders must create an account, and the Robotaxi app is currently only available on Apple iOS devices.
Musk told investors on the company’s January earnings call that Robotaxi would be a big part of Tesla’s “overall shift to an autonomous future.”
“The only vehicles that we’ll make will be autonomous vehicles, with the exception of the next generation Roadster,” Musk said Jan. 28.
Where Does Tesla’s Robotaxi Operate?
Tesla currently operates its Robotaxis using Model Ys in limited areas of Austin, Dallas, Houston, and California.
The company has previously told investors that it plans to expand the service to cities including Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas.
Musk told investors on the April earnings call that the Robotaxi service is being expanded using the same software currently deployed in Austin and San Francisco.
“The limiting factor for expansion is really rigorous validation,” Musk said. “Making sure things are completely safe. We don’t want a single accident or injury with the expansion of robotaxi, and we’ve — to the credit of the team — not had a single one to date.”
