Elon Musk reportedly adopted what analysts described as an “unusually reserved” stance during a Tesla earnings conference held last Wednesday (22).
The entrepreneur, known for offering extremely optimistic timelines that can be seen as unrealistic targets, admitted during the meeting that the expansion of the company’s robotaxi service is progressing more slowly than originally expected.
It is worth noting that in October last year, Musk had suggested that Tesla’s autonomous taxi network would be available to “half of the U.S. population” by the end of 2025. However, that did not happen.
Now, during the recent call, the entrepreneur provided a new timeline to investors, projecting that driverless vehicles will be operating in only about 12 U.S. states by the end of 2026.
According to Reuters, analysts at William Blair described Musk’s presentation as “low-energy,” highlighting that his reserved tone on topics he previously discussed with enthusiasm signals unexpected operational challenges.
For Musk, the slowdown is linked to the need to ensure full system safety before large-scale deployment. Tesla is awaiting a critical software update, seen as essential to raise safety standards and reduce the risk of injuries or fatalities.
But according to experts, this shift in the entrepreneur’s optimism reflects the difficulty companies have faced in operating autonomous fleets at scale, a challenge already observed with Waymo’s taxis, which frequently experience operational issues.
+ Ground drone evacuates elderly woman from war zone in Ukraine
Photo: Unsplash. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
