Tesla Robotaxis go to Florida

特斯拉 Robotaxi 进军佛罗里达州

It must be earnings day, because Tesla is making a Robotaxi announcement. 看来今天是财报日，因为特斯拉发布了关于 Robotaxi（自动驾驶出租车）的消息。

The company said in a post on X that it was launching its Robotaxi service in Orlando and Tampa, attaching a pair of maps that show each city’s service area. No word on fleet size or whether interested customers would be able to hail a vehicle right away. 特斯拉在 X（原推特）上发文称，将在奥兰多和坦帕推出 Robotaxi 服务，并附上了显示各城市服务区域的地图。目前尚不清楚车队规模，也不确定感兴趣的客户是否能立即叫到车。

The timing of the post is noteworthy, considering later today Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to provide an update on the progress of the company’s Robotaxi service during its second quarter earnings call. Adding two new cities to the docket probably sounds like progress to some investors. 考虑到特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克预计将在今天晚些时候的第二季度财报电话会议上更新 Robotaxi 服务的进展，这篇帖子的发布时机值得玩味。对于一些投资者来说，增加两个新城市听起来可能是一种进步。

Of course, that progress is entirely subjective. The company’s all-important Robotaxi service is dramatically smaller than Elon Musk predicted. In 2024, he said the company’s autonomous ridehail vehicles would be available to half the US population by the end of 2025. Several months later, Musk said Tesla would have “500 or more” vehicles in the Austin area alone by the end of 2025. 当然，这种进步完全是主观的。该公司至关重要的 Robotaxi 服务规模远小于马斯克的预测。2024 年，他曾表示，到 2025 年底，该公司的自动驾驶网约车将覆盖美国一半的人口。几个月后，马斯克又称，仅在奥斯汀地区，特斯拉到 2025 年底就将拥有“500 辆或更多”车辆。

The number of vehicles in each city has also fluctuated dramatically: back in May, Tesla had five unsupervised robotaxis in Dallas, six in Houston, and 29 in Austin. As of today, there are only 17 unsupervised vehicles in Austin, four in Dallas, and zero in Houston, according to the Robotaxi Tracker. By comparison, Waymo is estimated to have over 3,500 fully driverless vehicles in operation across over 10 cities. 各城市的车辆数量也出现了剧烈波动：今年 5 月，特斯拉在达拉斯有 5 辆无人监管的 Robotaxi，休斯顿有 6 辆，奥斯汀有 29 辆。据 Robotaxi Tracker 显示，截至今日，奥斯汀仅剩 17 辆无人监管车辆，达拉斯有 4 辆，休斯顿则为零。相比之下，Waymo 在 10 多个城市运营的完全无人驾驶车辆估计超过 3,500 辆。

Like Waymo, Tesla typically introduces robotaxis to a new city with a safety driver behind the wheel. Unlike Waymo, sometimes Tesla moves that person over to the passenger seat with access to a kill switch should anything go wrong. The company has been inconsistent in how it rolls out its robotaxis to new markets. The numbers go up and down, with zero explanation from the company as to why. 与 Waymo 一样，特斯拉通常会安排一名安全员坐在驾驶座上，将 Robotaxi 引入新城市。但与 Waymo 不同的是，特斯拉有时会将安全员移至副驾驶座，并配备紧急制动开关以防万一。该公司在向新市场推广 Robotaxi 的方式上一直缺乏一致性。车辆数量时多时少，而公司对此从未给出任何解释。

According to several reports, wait times for Tesla’s robotaxis can be long as a result of limited vehicle supply. Often the vehicles pick up and drop off in the wrong location. Unsupervised vehicles are often remotely operated. This week, Tesla reported that an unsupervised robotaxi crashed into a tree stump while being remotely operated. Musk has predicted the service will be profitable in 2027. 据多方报道，由于车辆供应有限，特斯拉 Robotaxi 的等待时间可能很长。车辆经常在错误的地点接送乘客。无人监管的车辆通常由远程操控。本周，特斯拉报告称，一辆无人监管的 Robotaxi 在远程操控过程中撞上了一个树桩。马斯克曾预测该服务将在 2027 年实现盈利。

By adding new cities, Tesla is clearly trying to sell investors on the idea that its robotaxi project is growing. But the fluctuating fleet size, inconsistency in supervised vs unsupervised vehicles, and long wait times tell a very different story. 通过增加新城市，特斯拉显然是在向投资者兜售其 Robotaxi 项目正在增长的愿景。但波动的车队规模、监管与非监管车辆之间的不一致性，以及漫长的等待时间，却讲述了一个截然不同的故事。