Elon Musk launched steering-wheel and brake-pedal-free Cybercab taxis in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, betting that Americans will embrace fully autonomous vehicles. A Pew Research Center survey shows that 70% of American adults are not comfortable with driverless cars. Tesla shares surged more than 5% on the news. The company trails rival Waymo significantly, with around 200 unsupervised robotaxis compared to Waymo’s more than 4,000 vehicles across 14 cities. Tesla also faces major challenges including a second consecutive annual decline in vehicle sales and losing its position as the world’s top electric vehicle maker to China’s BYD.
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