Tesla Inc. is preparing to launch its highly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, this June, CEO Elon Musk confirmed in a CNBC interview on Tuesday. The rollout will begin with about 10 autonomous vehicles and scale to around 1,000 within a few months. Musk expects the robotaxi rollout to begin with 10 vehicles, scale to 1,000 within months, and reach hundreds of thousands, or possibly over a million, fully self-driving cars by the end of next year. Tesla bears criticized the company’s first-quarter performance, citing a 9% drop in sales and a 20% decline in automotive revenue. Musk countered by saying demand has significantly rebounded since then. No exact date for the Austin launch has been announced.
