Texas-Sized Wait Times for Tesla’s Robotaxi Beta

Tesla’s autonomous ambitions hit a reality check in Texas this week as reports surfaced of significant operational hurdles in its trial robotaxi service. While CEO Elon Musk previously predicted that Tesla robotaxis would cover half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025 CleanTechnica, the current rollout in cities like Dallas is being characterized as a limited, glitch-prone beta. Reporters testing the service found it plagued by long wait times and inconsistent availability Yahoo Finance.

In one documented instance, a passenger waited nearly two hours for a five-mile trip that typically takes 20 minutes CleanTechnica. Navigation issues also persisted; one vehicle reportedly missed the same left turn four times, requiring a remote human attendant to intervene before the car could complete the maneuver CleanTechnica. Furthermore, drop-off points were frequently inaccurate, with one ride ending 15 minutes away from the intended destination across a freeway CleanTechnica.

Belgium Greenlights Supervised FSD Testing

While the Texas rollout faces friction, Tesla’s European expansion is gaining momentum. The Belgian region of Flanders has officially authorized Tesla to test its supervised self-driving software on public roads Insurance Journal. This follows a provisional approval by Dutch regulators last month, making Belgium the second EU territory to allow the software, which requires active driver supervision Reuters.

The testing phase will involve a single vehicle covering approximately 5,000 kilometers to evaluate how the software handles Belgian road infrastructure and local traffic rules Insurance Journal. If successful, regional minister Annick De Ridder indicated that work could begin on a provisional European type approval Reuters. The vehicle is expected to begin its runs as soon as registration and insurance are finalized this week Insurance Journal.

Waymo Recalls 3,800 Vehicles After Texas Flood Incident

Tesla isn't the only player facing autonomous growing pains. Waymo has initiated a voluntary recall of nearly 3,800 robotaxis equipped with its fifth and sixth-generation automated driving systems BBC. The recall stems from a software vulnerability that failed to prevent vehicles from entering flooded roads. The issue was highlighted on April 20 in San Antonio, Texas, when an uncrewed Waymo vehicle was swept into a creek after entering a flooded roadway Fox Business.

Waymo is currently rolling out a software fix to address these "safeguards" and has temporarily suspended its San Antonio service BBC. Despite the recall, Waymo recently demonstrated its system's defensive capabilities in Los Angeles, where a dashcam video showed a robotaxi successfully maneuvering to avoid a crash caused by street racing on the 10 Freeway ABC7 Chicago. Waymo currently facilitates over 500,000 trips per week across several U.S. cities BBC.

Market Watch

Tesla (TSLA) stock is currently trading after closing its last session at $446.96, a gain of 3.12% Yahoo Finance. The stock has shown resilience despite the critical reports regarding Texas robotaxi performance. Meanwhile, solid-state battery developer QuantumScape (QS) saw its shares climb 7% to approximately $9 following the inauguration of its Eagle Line pilot facility and the recording of its first $19.5 million in customer billings 24/7 Wall St.

In the broader tech sector, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) saw a slight dip of 1.8% MarketBeat, even as institutional investors like Stonebridge Financial Group added $527,000 to their positions MarketBeat. Alibaba reported a 3% year-over-year revenue increase to RMB 243,380 million, with its Cloud Intelligence Group seeing a 40% jump in external revenue driven by AI demand Business Wire.