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Tesla’s revenue rises again as it prepares for more AI and robotics

2026-04-23T08:26:52-04:00

Tesla released its 2026 first-quarter financial earnings today, providing another look at the progress of Elon Musk's $1 trillion bet to transform his company into a leader of AI and robotics.

Tesla said it earned $477 million in net income on $22.4 billion in revenue in the quarter that ended in April 2026. That's a 16 percent increase in revenue and a 17 percent increase in profits over the first quarter of 2025, when the company earned $409 million in net income on $19.3 billion in revenue. Tesla missed revenue expectations from Wall Street, which assumed approximately $22.64 billion in revenue.

As part of the earnings update deck, Tesl …

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Tesla launches robotaxis in Dallas and Houston, and oops, it’s already unavailable

2026-04-20T11:06:55-04:00

Tesla claims to have launched a robotaxi service in Dallas and Houston over the weekend, but so far, online crowdsourcing tools indicate that very few cars are actually available.

On Saturday, @TeslaRobotaxi posted a 14-second video of a Model Y vehicle driving without any human safety monitor in the front seats. Elon Musk re-posted the video, adding, "Try Tesla Robotaxi in Dallas & Houston!"

Try Tesla Robotaxi in Dallas & Houston! https://t.co/K6Ss0S7v4k
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2026

But as of Sunday evening, the service appeared to be largely unavailable, according to Robotaxi Tracker, an online data site that tracks autonom …

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Most people still don’t want anything to do with robotaxis

2026-04-20T16:05:13-04:00

I've been reporting on self-driving cars for over a decade, and I've seen the technology go through many ups and downs, highs and lows. But one thing has remained remarkably the same over the years: the public just ain't buying it.

Poll after poll has revealed a deep and abiding skepticism toward autonomous vehicles. People don't trust the technology, don't want to ride in cars without human drivers - even when the evidence suggests the vehicle could be much safer than a human driver. Sure, robotaxis are operating in about a dozen cities now, and companies like Waymo don't seem to have any problems finding customers. But when you expand th …

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Lucid sells more robotaxis to Uber, appoints a new CEO

2026-04-14T10:21:01-04:00

Lucid and Nuro executives hailing an Uber robotaxi. | Image: Nuro

Lucid is making some changes. The luxury EV company said Tuesday that it was expanding its robotaxi deal with Uber - and nabbing some additional investment cash in the process. And it's naming a new CEO who hails not from the world of electric vehicles, but from a company that manufactures a different kind of mobility device: elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

First, Lucid said that Uber is increasing the number of Lucid Gravity SUVs it is purchasing, from 20,000 to 35,000, for its robotaxi fleet. If you'll recall, last year, Lucid, Uber, and autonomous delivery startup Nuro announced a massive robotaxi deal that would see the dep …

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Waymo is offering to help cities fix their potholes

2026-04-08T17:33:41-04:00

In recent months, some cities have sought a new recruit in their forever war against potholes: Waymo.

Municipal officials in multiple cities where Waymo operates have reached out to the robotaxi operator for help in locating potholes on their streets, assuming that Waymo kept such data. Fortunately for them, Waymo does, and it has recently decided to launch a pilot program, along with Google's Waze, to share its pothole data with city officials.

The mission is to make city streets safer to drive, which is desirable for both human and robot drivers. And it could help Waymo's broader effort to build positive relationships with cities, espec …

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Robotaxi companies won’t say how often remote operators intervene

2026-04-06T15:55:18-04:00

Autonomous vehicle companies are refusing to disclose key details about their use of remote assistance teams, including how often these workers are forced to intervene to help their self-driving cars.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) had asked robotaxi companies to disclose the information as part of an investigation by his office into the use of remote assistance operators (RAO). The senator's office sent letters to seven robotaxi companies - Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Amazon's Zoox - seeking information about the use of remote workers to monitor the driverless vehicles and occasionally intervene when the vehicles need h …

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Baidu’s robotaxis froze in traffic, creating chaos

2026-04-01T07:29:26-04:00

A Baidu Apollo robotaxi in Wuhan, China. | Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Numerous robotaxis operated by Chinese tech giant Baidu froze in a major city on Tuesday, reportedly trapping passengers inside, stranding them on highways, and causing at least one accident in snarled traffic.

Police in Wuhan confirmed receiving multiple reports of Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxis stopping in the middle of streets and being unable to move. Police said no injuries have been reported and that preliminary investigations suggest an unspecified "system failure" is responsible for the outage.

NEW: Dozens of robotaxis by Baidu stopped on the road in Wuhan, causing crashes on highways and trapping passengers in the cars-some for mo …

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Why a two-seater robotaxi makes more sense than you think

2026-03-26T09:52:38-04:00

07 March 2026, USA, San Jose: A test car of the Tesla robotaxi Cybercab is on the road. The vehicles will not have a steering wheel or pedals when they are launched on the market. Tesla boss Elon Musk sees autonomous driving as the future of the electric car manufacturer. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa (Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images)

When Tesla revealed the Cybercab in 2024, many people were baffled by the automaker's decision to make it a two-seater. I had similar thoughts when I first saw it at the LA Auto Show later that year: What kind of taxi has only two seats? Once you get above a tuktuk, that's an asinine idea no one will ever want.

For 18 months, that seems to have been the prevailing attitude. On Reddit and other social media platforms, users have weighed in on the utility, or lack thereof, of a two-seat robotaxi. "You could strap a few people to the roof for a special discount," quipped one commenter. Nevertheless, the first Tesla Cybercab was put into produ …

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Uber aims to launch Europe’s first robotaxi service with Pony AI and Verne

2026-03-26T05:53:54-04:00

Uber is joining forces with two companies, China's Pony AI and Croatia's Verne, to launch what it claims will be Europe's first commercially available robotaxi service. The vehicles are already being tested in Zagreb, Croatia, where Verne is headquartered, and will soon be available to customers on Uber's ridehail network.

The announcement is the latest move by Uber to shield itself from the financial blowback of robotaxis potentially overtaking the traditional ridehail business. The company has allied itself with dozens of autonomous vehicle developers over the past year in an attempt to persuade investors that it can survive the impendin …

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Zoox is bringing its robotaxis to Austin and Miami

2026-03-24T09:20:35-04:00

Zoox is stretching out its legs. The Amazon-owned robotaxi today announced that it's gearing up to expand its service in San Francisco and Las Vegas, while also eyeing two additional cities - Austin and Miami - for future service.

Zoox, which is one of the few companies to use a purpose-built autonomous vehicle without traditional driving controls, said it has driven nearly two million driverless miles and ferried approximately 350,000 passengers since launching its customer service last year. Zoox doesn't charge for its robotaxi trips, as it's only approved to operate its custom-built vehicle on public roads under a "demonstration exempti …

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