Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi rollout faced bumps in the road

Business Insider

5 days ago

Good morning. An American moved to France expecting the workplace dynamics to resemble those back home — they were wrong. For one, they had grown used to friendly yet professional office interactions with clear boundaries. Paris was different, they said. Workplace relationships felt far more personal.
In today's big story, Tesla's long-awaited robotaxis were rolled out in Austin.
What's on deck
Markets: From interviewing past midnight to scrambling to sign an offer, a PE professional shared his stressful on-cycle recruitment experience.
Business: Homebuyers can't afford to ignore the fight between Zillow and Compass anymore.
But first, there's a driver who won't judge your playlist.
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The big story
Tesla's $4.20 robotaxi ride
Joel Angel Juarez/REUTERS
There were some bumps in the road. After a decade of waiting, Tesla launched a limited self-driving car service in Austin.
The first Tesla robotaxi rides were available on Sunday to a small group of invited users for a flat fee of $4.20 (surely not a coincidence). For now, the service is geofenced to avoid Austin's more challenging intersections.
The cars came with a passenger already buckled in — a Tesla employee as a safety precaution. In footage seen by BI, there appeared to be no significant intervention from the supervisor.
The vehicles did several things right, but the rollout wasn't without its hiccups. One video showed a passenger being driven across double yellow lines into the wrong lane, prompting a car behind to honk at it. During the same ride, the robotaxi also exceeded the 35-mph speed limit on multiple occasions.
While the rollout used the current Tesla Model Y, sources told BI the company is building a modified version of the car for its robotaxi fleet. The project, internally referred to as "Halo," involves cars with self-cleaning cameras and extra protection for the cameras to prevent damage and debris, one insider said.
The rollout came at a turbulent time for Musk.
At the end of March, Tesla capped its worst quarter since 2022 amid protests at its showrooms. Then, earlier this month, Tesla stock plummeted more than 14% following a very embittered, very public falling out between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.
Competition is also fierce. Waymo has such cabs in several cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin. They don't require human supervisors to be present, and their service range in Austin is about twice the size of Tesla's current operating limits.
Their technology differs, too. Tesla relies on a set of cameras mounted on its vehicles, rather than expensive radar and lidar sensors used by Waymo. This is in part why Musk expects Tesla's purpose-built Cybercab to sell for less than $30,000. Waymo, meanwhile, retrofits existing vehicles with its technology, which can result in a list price as high as $70,000.
Although the robotaxi arrived years later than promised, Tesla's rollout was a critical step for Musk's ambitions to make an Uber-like network of autonomous vehicles. The company's stock price leapt 8% when the markets opened on Monday, causing Musk's net worth to jump by $19 billion.
3 things in markets
1. Inside private equity's recruiting nightmare. The industry's process for hiring junior talent is notoriously competitive and chaotic. One PE professional shared his recruiting experience with BI, detailing how he interviewed until 2:30 a.m. with one firm and hid in the bathroom to call headhunters during interviews with another.
2. More Fed officials are calling for rate cuts. Three top officials appear to be on the same page as President Donald Trump after the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady last week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell defended the central bank's patient approach in his testimony to Congress on Tuesday. Here's what the Fed officials are saying.
3. Tariff worries could soon make a comeback. July 9 is the end of the 90-day pause on Trump's tariffs. Markets are in relief mode now over Israel and Iran's ceasefire, but Morgan Stanley laid out three reasons why tariff anxiety could take center stage again.
3 things in tech
1. How AI data centers are deepening the water crisis. Large AI data centers each guzzle up millions of gallons of fresh water a day — enough for tens of thousands of Americans. Despite drought deepening, a BI investigation found that Big Tech companies have put nearly half of these centers in the most water-stressed areas of the US.
2. Why does Apple keep pulling its ads? The iPhone maker used to be infamous for its ad campaigns, but now Apple is becoming more known for yanking them. Its latest ad vanished from YouTube and Apple's site a few days ago, and BI's Peter Kafka doesn't get why.
3. What we know about the mystery device from OpenAI and Jony Ive. Or rather, what it won't be. Tang Tan, cofounder of Ive's io, revealed in legal filings that the highly anticipated AI device doesn't go in your ear and isn't a wearable.
3 things in business
1. Homebuyers are caught in the middle of an ugly real-estate fistfight. Compass and Zillow have been trading blows over who gets to see the houses for sale in America and where buyers will have to go to find them. Everyday consumers can't afford to ignore it anymore, writes BI's James Rodriguez.
2. The vibes are rank in HR right now. Nonstop layoffs, RTO mandates, AI training demands, not to mention concerns over immigration raids in the workplace — it's all piling up on HR workers. They told BI about the parts of the job that are getting downright ugly.
3. Disney's tough June. The company laid off workers for the second time this month, this time in product and technology. The layoffs affected under 2% of the group, according to a person with direct knowledge.
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What's happening today
Fed Chair Jerome Powell presents semiannual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee.
Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Meghan Morris, bureau chief, in Singapore. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London.