Overview
- Elon Musk said Monday at the Smart Mobility Summit that Tesla’s driverless service will be widespread in the U.S. by year‑end and that cars already run without safety monitors in three Texas cities.
- Independent trackers count roughly 30 to 38 unsupervised vehicles across Austin, Dallas and Houston, showing a very small footprint compared with the scale implied by the pledge.
- USA Today reports that broader U.S. deployment would require Congress to raise caps on self-driving cars that do not meet all federal safety rules, which restricts how many such vehicles can operate.
- Reporters who tried the Texas rides described long waits, frequent unavailability and drop-offs far from destinations, which shows the current service still struggles to meet basic rider needs.
- Musk touted a camera‑only approach and forecast that AI will drive about 90% of miles within a decade, while recent Tesla and Waymo recalls and a history of missed autonomy timelines keep scrutiny high.