Elon Musk's "Robotaxis" Have a Dirty Secret

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made sweeping promises during the company's earnings call on Tuesday, vowing that there would be "thousands" of humanoid Optimus robots roaming Tesla's factories by the "end of this year" and that it would be "selling fully autonomous rides in June in Austin" in "maybe ten or 20 vehicles on day one." "There will be millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year," Musk vowed. While investors were seemingly satisfied simply by having Musk hint at the possibility that he would be spending less time gutting the federal government — shares rose over six percent on Wednesday, despite disastrous earnings — there are plenty of reasons to believe that the billionaire is using smoke and mirrors to distract from far more serious problems. For over a decade now, Musk has promised each year that full autonomy is right around the corner. But the carmaker still has plenty of nagging obstacles to clear before it can even achieve full autonomy, le ... Read full article.