Elon Musk cuts Tesla Robotaxi fleet target in Austin from 500 to just 60

Elon Musk’s dramatic revision of Tesla’s ambitious Robotaxi plans has sparked fresh scrutiny across the tech and automobile industries.

The Tesla CEO has confirmed that the company will “roughly double” its Robotaxi fleet in Austin next month.

A doubling would put the total at only around 60 vehicles, far from the 500 Robotaxi units Musk previously pledged before year-end.

The scaled-back target highlights the ongoing challenges Tesla faces in delivering its Robotaxi vision.

The current Robotaxi programme uses standard Model Y vehicles with Hardware 4, operating in a closely supervised pilot.

Despite the branding, the cars are not driverless, requiring a Tesla employee with a kill-switch on board during each ride.

Notably, customers in Austin have repeatedly reported long wait times and “High Service Demand” errors, issues that stem from Tesla’s extremely small fleet rather than overwhelming usage.

Musk’s latest announcement appears aimed at easing those complaints while acknowledging a significant missed milestone.

For Tesla, the shortfall raises broader questions about the company’s autonomous timeline and investor expectations.

Meanwhile, for Musk, the Robotaxi reset underscores the widening gap between Tesla’s bold promises and its real-world deployments as the year draws to a close.