Tesla (Photo: Shutterstock)

Tesla has expanded its robotaxi service to Orlando and Tampa in Florida. The Verge reported on Monday that Tesla posted maps of the service areas for the two cities on X, formerly Twitter, and announced the launch.

Tesla did not disclose how many vehicles it will deploy in each city in the announcement. It also did not say whether users can immediately hail a vehicle.

Tesla has added new cities, but the actual operating scale falls well short of targets set by Musk. Musk said in 2024 that robotaxis would be available to half the U.S. population by the end of 2025. A few months later, he said there would be more than 500 vehicles in the Austin area alone by the end of 2025.

Vehicle counts by city have instead declined recently. According to a robotaxi tracker, there are currently 17 unsupervised vehicles in Austin, 4 in Dallas and 0 in Houston. In May, there were 5 in Dallas, 6 in Houston and 29 in Austin. Tesla did not explain why the numbers changed.

Operating methods have also been inconsistent. Tesla often starts service in new cities with safety personnel in the driver’s seat, as Waymo does. In some areas, it has seated personnel in the front passenger seat who can access a kill switch to intervene if problems occur.

Problems around the user experience have continued. Limited vehicle supply has led to long wait times, and there have been cases in which passengers are picked up or dropped off at the wrong location. There are also cases in which unsupervised vehicles are operated remotely. Tesla reported this week that an unsupervised robotaxi being driven remotely collided with a tree stump.

Waymo is estimated to operate more than 3,500 fully driverless vehicles in more than 10 cities. Musk has said the robotaxi service is expected to become profitable in 2027, but Tesla still faces the task of proving vehicle scale and consistent operating methods separately from expanding to new cities.

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