Tesla’s Robotaxi autonomous taxi service is presently functioning in a confined, specific region of Austin, yet the company harbors much broader aspirations. During the earnings call held on Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk conveyed his conviction that the service will “deploy Robotaxi for half the population of the US by year’s end,” subject to regulatory approvals. “We’re securing the regulatory consent to initiate operations in the Bay Area, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and several other locations,” Musk remarked. He also noted that the company is proceeding “with great caution” regarding the expansion, but anticipates that both the service areas and the number of vehicles will increase at a “hyper-exponential rate.” Musk had earlier suggested that the Robotaxi service would begin to expand in the Bay Area within a “month or two,” but this latest proposal is ambitious, even by his benchmarks. Currently, Tesla’s Robotaxi service is reportedly operating with 10-20 Model Y vehicles, accessible to a select group of participants. Alphabet’s Waymo is already present in multiple major U.S. cities, including Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Atlanta, with intentions to extend to Miami and Washington D.C. by 2026. Tesla possesses an edge over other self-driving taxi services by employing standard Model Y cars as Robotaxis, while rivals like Waymo and Zoox utilize modified vehicles equipped with extra sensors. This could enable Tesla to expand more swiftly, although regulatory approval remains essential.