Musk says Tesla's robotaxis will be widespread in the U.S. by the end of this year

During a recent appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, CEO Elon Musk revealed ambitious plans for Tesla's driverless robotaxi service, forecasting a significant expansion across the United States by the end of 2026. He stated that Tesla's robotaxi service has already begun operating in select cities and is expected to become 'very, very widespread' within the country by the close of this year. The rollout of Tesla's robotaxis commenced in Austin back in June, followed by the introduction of a ride-sharing service in San Francisco. This launch follows years of anticipation as Tesla has worked to fulfill its promise of delivering fully autonomous vehicles. Currently, human safety monitors are present in the vehicles to oversee operations. In 2019, Musk expressed strong confidence that the company would be able to launch these vehicles by 2020, but the timeline has faced delays. As Tesla moves forward, it finds itself in an increasingly competitive landscape for driverless technology, with Alphabet-backed Waymo leading the charge and Amazon-owned Zoox also entering the market. Waymo recently expanded its service to five U.S. markets and launched operations in Miami, further intensifying the competition. Interestingly, this marks Musk's first participation in the annual forum in several years, despite his previous criticisms of the event, which he once described on social media as 'boring af.'