Elon Musk said on Tuesday that Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) robotaxi presence in Austin is set for a major expansion, stating the fleet should “roughly double” by December as the company accelerates its autonomous driving ambitions.
His comment came in reply to a social media post urging Tesla to add more vehicles to the robotaxi program amid user complaints about long wait times and difficulty securing rides.
Tesla launched its pilot robotaxi service in Austin earlier this year before extending operations to the San Francisco Bay Area. The automaker also recently received approval to begin offering ride-hailing services in Arizona, though it must continue placing safety monitors inside each autonomous vehicle for now.
Musk previously said in October that he expected Tesla robotaxis in Austin to operate without safety drivers later this year.
Tesla has not disclosed exactly how many robotaxis are currently deployed, leaving the scale of the planned expansion unclear.
Musk has repeatedly framed autonomous driving and AI as the company’s key future growth engines, especially as the automaker faces sharply slowing demand for its electric vehicles. Fresh data released Tuesday highlighted the challenge: Tesla’s European sales slumped by nearly 50% in October, while Chinese rival BYD (USOTC:BYDDY) posted strong gains.