that the EV maker had given up on its much-cheaper Model 2 consumer vehicle to focus its efforts on a "robotaxi" instead, Musk initially, not a single agency that regulates robotaxis in the US has yet heard from Tesla about any impending driverless services.The California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission , which has the final say when it comes to robtaxi services in the state, also has yet to hear from Tesla.
Of course, Musk is promising a robotaxi, not a robotaxi service. But while the carmaker has four months to scrounge together a vehicle to show off on stage, it likely won't hit public streets for quite some time. Even if Tesla were to magically make a robotaxi appear overnight, getting it on the road as part of a robotaxi fleet will be a substantial undertaking. Other competing services from the likes of Cruise and Waymo have already hit major headwinds,
As always, we should approach Musk's declarations with plenty of skepticism. After all, who could forget that the mercurial billionaire previously promised to launch a robotaxi by 2020, which is now four years in the rearview?at a 2019 event. They won’t be "in all jurisdictions, because we won’t have regulatory approval everywhere, but I am confident we will have at least regulatory approval somewhere, literally next year.