Tesla slows Robotaxi rollout

Tesla told investors on April 22 that its robotaxi rollout will expand more slowly than earlier signals suggested, even as the company increases spending on autonomy. (tesla.com) Chief executive Elon Musk said Tesla expects robotaxi service in “a dozen or so” U.S. states by the end of 2026, after launching unsupervised rides in Dallas and Houston in April. Tesla’s first-quarter update also said the company had launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in those two cities and won approval for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the Netherlands in April. (usatoday.com) (tesla.com) The money behind that plan is rising fast. Reuters reported Tesla lifted its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to more than $25 billion, up from a January forecast of more than $20 billion, and Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said the company expects negative free cash flow for the rest of 2026. (usnews.com) Tesla’s first-quarter results were mixed. The company reported $22.39 billion in revenue, $0.5 billion in generally accepted accounting principles net income, $1.5 billion in non-generally accepted accounting principles net income, and $1.4 billion in free cash flow. (tesla.com) (usnews.com) A robotaxi service is a ride-hailing network that uses software to drive the car instead of a human. Tesla is trying to build that business with its own vehicles, its Full Self-Driving software, and a future two-seat Cybercab that would not have a steering wheel or pedals. (sec.gov) That autonomy push has become central to Tesla’s story as its core car business slows. Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles in the first quarter, below analyst expectations cited by CNBC, while Tesla still gets most of its revenue from selling cars rather than from robotaxis or robots. (cnbc.com) Investors initially welcomed Tesla’s positive cash flow, then pulled back after the spending warning. Reuters reported the stock rose as much as 4% after hours before falling 2.4% during the post-earnings call as Musk described the heavier investment cycle. (globalbankingandfinance.com) Tesla says the spending is aimed at artificial intelligence, chips, factories, batteries and the infrastructure needed for robotaxis and Optimus robots. In its shareholder update, the company said it added AI compute, prepared lines for Cybercab production, and kept building the software and infrastructure behind Robotaxi and future robotics businesses. (tesla.com) (usnews.com) Skeptics have pointed to the limited size of Tesla’s latest launches. Electrek reported the new Dallas and Houston service areas covered small geofenced zones, a restricted approach that contrasts with Musk’s long-running claims about broad self-driving deployment. Tesla did not dispute that the launches began in defined operating areas; its April update simply described them as unsupervised rides in Dallas and Houston. (electrek.co) (tesla.com) The next test is whether Tesla can turn those city-by-city launches into a real commercial network without letting costs outrun the business. For now, the company is asking investors to fund a larger autonomy buildout while accepting that the rollout will take longer. (usnews.com)