Tesla robotaxis finally hit the road in Austin, Texas, in June after years of unfulfilled promises from Musk to deliver driverless cars.

CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the automaker's vehicles equipped with the AI4 (HW4) chip will be able to achieve unsupervised autonomous driving without requiring upgrades. AI4 Will Be Capable Of Self-Driving On Monday,

Musk said the subscription price, currently $99, will rise as the FSD's capabilities improve over time.

Empty robotaxis and long drives without interventions make some imagine Tesla FSD is ready to deploy. The math may say the reverse.

On its face, declaring yourself an optimist seems like a reasonable thing to say and believe. But contrast Musk’s sentiment on Thursday with the rhetoric we’ve seen since he signed up to publicly support President Donald Trump in the summer of 2024, and it doesn’t really give a warm and fuzzy feeling.

While regulatory progress on FSD and early ‌robotaxi deployments point to ‌momentum in Tesla's AI ambitions, the technology remains nascent relative to a valuation that far outstrips those of many technology and automotive companies.

This isn't the first time Tesla has faced criticism. A class action lawsuit that was filed in Florida claims that electronic door handles on Model S vehicles from 2014 to 2016 "routinely fail" within years of typical driving. The suit said Tesla "knew or should have known" about the defect.

The AI5 chip will "make the cars almost perfect and greatly enhance Optimus," Tesla CEO Elon Musk added in a post on X.