Tesla Expands Robotaxi Service to Orlando and Tampa, Reports 380,000 Unsupervised Miles

Tesla has expanded its robotaxi service to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, ahead of its second-quarter earnings call, while reporting that its fleet has logged 380,000 unsupervised miles with "zero notable incidents" Source: foxbusiness. The company is racing to demonstrate that its camera-based autonomous driving technology can scale, but critics note persistent inconsistencies in fleet size and service quality.

Expansion and Safety Claims

Tesla launched robotaxi pilots in Orlando and Tampa on July 21, adding to existing services in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Miami Source: cna. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI software, touted the fleet's safety record on the earnings call, stating that any reported incidents involved "other actors impacting us when we were stationary" Source: foxbusiness. He argued that the results prove cameras alone can achieve safe autonomy, without lidar or HD maps.

Criticism and Fleet Size Concerns

Despite the expansion, Tesla's robotaxi rollout remains far smaller than promised. CEO Elon Musk had predicted the service would cover half the U.S. population by end of 2025, but current operations are limited to six cities with tiny fleets. According to The Verge, the number of unsupervised vehicles in Austin has dropped from 29 in May to just 17, with only four in Dallas and none in Houston Source: theverge. Waymo, by contrast, operates over 3,500 fully driverless vehicles across more than ten cities. Wait times can be long, and some vehicles have been involved in incidents, such as a remote-operated robotaxi hitting a tree stump Source: theverge. TechCrunch notes that Tesla's slow pace contrasts with its ambitious predictions, though a proposed federal rule change removing brake pedal requirements could boost Cybercab deployment Source: techcrunch.