{"id":"bde7c8a1-5d35-449d-93b0-2ac8e4601c16","name":"Tesla","slug":"tesla","description":"Electric-vehicle and AI company (NASDAQ: TSLA), founded 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a physical-AI program spanning three robotics fronts: a robotaxi ride-hailing service, the Optimus humanoid robot, and the forthcoming purpose-built Cybercab.\n\nRobotaxi: Tesla launched robotaxi service in Austin in July 2025 and operates in two markets as of mid-2026: Austin (unsupervised L4 driverless; small active fleet of ~14, of ~42 vehicles registered with the Texas DMV, late May 2026) and the San Francisco Bay Area (supervised L2 under a CPUC TCP permit; ~1,655 vehicles registered with CPUC but only ~9 active as of late May 2026, down from a ~168 peak in January 2026). The active US unsupervised fleet is ~20 (14 Austin / 3 Dallas / 3 Houston) and has declined since a late-2025 / early-2026 peak; registered counts far exceed the active operating fleet. The vehicles are 2026 Model Y cars running Tesla's Full Self-Driving / Autonomous Driving System. At its Q4 2025 earnings call (January 2026), Tesla announced plans to expand to seven additional US cities (Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas) in H1 2026; Dallas and Houston launched in April 2026, while the other five (Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas) slipped to 'preparations underway'. The Austin operation carries a federally-mandated crash-reporting record (17 NHTSA-reported incidents July 2025 to March 2026, including two teleoperator-caused crashes; zero major crashes and no citations per Austin PD), and NHTSA has separately inquired into videos of erratic driving.\n\nOptimus: Tesla's humanoid robot, with Gen 3 mass production commencing at the Fremont factory on January 21, 2026. Notably, at the January 2026 earnings call Musk admitted that as of then zero Optimus robots were doing 'useful work' in Tesla's factories. Units at Fremont and Giga Texas are in a supervised learning and data-collection phase, not yet performing productive autonomous manufacturing work. Tesla committed $20B+ in 2026 capex toward Optimus, plans to convert its Fremont Model S/X lines to Optimus manufacturing (toward a stated 1-million-unit/year capacity by end-2026), and is constructing a dedicated Giga Texas facility, all production-capacity ambitions, with first productive internal deployment projected for late 2026 to 2027.\n\nCybercab: a purpose-built, steering-wheel-free dedicated robotaxi vehicle, with production expected to begin around April 2026, not yet the deployed service vehicle as of early 2026.\n\nTesla's physical-AI program operates under intense regulatory and public scrutiny, and is notable for the gap between its publicly stated targets and demonstrated results.","status":"public","founded":2003,"hq":"Austin, Texas, USA","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tesla.com/we-robot","label":"Tesla — Optimus","title":"Tesla — Optimus","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Tesla","publishedAt":"2026-01-01"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_(robot)","label":"Optimus (robot) — Wikipedia","title":"Optimus (robot) — Wikipedia","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Wikipedia","publishedAt":"2026-01-01"},{"id":"1d8de986-2997-4108-846b-fa0e891bbaca","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/waymo-halts-freeway-rides-after-robotaxis-struggle-in-construction-zones/","label":"Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones","title":"Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Transportation & Auto News | TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-21T22:15:00.000Z"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tesla-robotaxi-austin-14-crashes-nhtsa/","label":"Tesla robotaxi Austin launch, expansion plans, NHTSA erratic-driving inquiry","title":"Tesla robotaxi Austin launch, expansion plans, NHTSA erratic-driving inquiry","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"CBS News","publishedAt":"2026-02-17"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/15/tesla-reveals-two-robotaxi-crashes-involving-teleoperators/","label":"Tesla's two teleoperator-caused robotaxi crashes; 17 NHTSA incidents unredacted","title":"Tesla's two teleoperator-caused robotaxi crashes; 17 NHTSA incidents unredacted","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-15"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/04/22/tesla-optimus-production-fremont-model-sx-line/","label":"Musk admits zero Optimus doing useful work; Fremont Model S/X line conversion to Optimus","title":"Musk admits zero Optimus doing useful work; Fremont Model S/X line conversion to Optimus","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-04-22"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/05/26/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-shrinking-not-growing/","label":"Tesla robotaxi active fleet shrinking (34 total/20 unsupervised, May 2026); safety bottleneck","title":"Tesla robotaxi active fleet shrinking (34 total/20 unsupervised, May 2026); safety bottleneck","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-05-26"},{"url":"https://electrek.co/2026/04/18/tesla-robotaxi-launches-dallas-houston-small-geofences/","label":"Tesla robotaxi Dallas/Houston launch; fleet ~80 Austin; transparency/redaction record","title":"Tesla robotaxi Dallas/Houston launch; fleet ~80 Austin; transparency/redaction record","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Electrek","publishedAt":"2026-04-18"},{"id":"9f27242c-8a18-4866-8859-e23d7692abd6","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/28/waymo-dominates-texas-autonomous-vehicle-registrations-as-tesla-trails-behind/","label":"Waymo dominates autonomous vehicle registrations as Tesla trails behind","title":"Waymo dominates autonomous vehicle registrations as Tesla trails behind","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Transportation & Auto News | TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-29T00:14:35.000Z"},{"url":"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/regulatory-services/licensing/transportation-licensing-and-analysis-branch/autonomous-vehicle-programs/autonomous-vehicle-program-permits-issued","title":"CPUC — passenger-transportation / AV program permits. Tesla holds a TCP (charter-party) permit for the CA Bay Area ride-hailing service; ~1,655 vehicles registered per CPUC TCP filings (reported late May 2026).","sourceName":"California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)"},{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-28/tesla-reveals-its-texas-robotaxi-fleet-is-dwarfed-by-waymo-s","title":"Tesla's Texas robotaxi fleet is 42 vehicles (official TX DMV registration), dwarfed by Waymo's (May 28 2026)","sourceName":"Bloomberg"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Robotaxi fleet (active, late May 2026)","value":"~20 active unsupervised US-wide (14 Austin / 3 Dallas / 3 Houston); Bay Area ~9 active supervised, down from a ~168 peak in Jan 2026; ~1,655 registered with CPUC and 42 in Texas. Registered counts far exceed active."},{"label":"Robotaxi launch","value":"Austin, July 2025"},{"label":"Robotaxi vehicle","value":"2026 Model Y (FSD/ADS)"},{"label":"Announced expansion","value":"7 cities for H1 2026 (Q4 2025 earnings); Dallas + Houston launched Apr 2026, 5 delayed to 'preparations underway'"},{"label":"Austin safety record","value":"17 NHTSA incidents; zero major crashes / no citations (Austin PD)"},{"label":"Optimus production","value":"Gen 3 mass production started Jan 21, 2026 (Fremont)"},{"label":"Optimus reality check","value":"Musk (Jan 2026): zero doing 'useful work' yet"},{"label":"Optimus capacity target","value":"1M units/yr by end-2026 (plan); $20B+ 2026 capex"},{"label":"Cybercab","value":"Production expected ~April 2026 (not yet deployed)"}],"aliases":["Tesla Inc","Tesla Motors"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T17:24:17.509Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-29T18:30:05.052Z"}