Zoox Co-Founder Disagrees with Tesla's Robotaxi Timeline

Jesse Levinson, co-founder and CTO of Zoox, has expressed skepticism over Tesla's plans to launch a robotaxi ride-hailing service. He doubts that Tesla will be ready to roll out this service in California or any other location next year, despite Elon Musk's assertions to the contrary.

"The fundamental issue is they don’t have technology that works," Levinson stated during his appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. He emphasized the difference between a driver assistance system, which may operate successfully most of the time but still requires human intervention, and a truly autonomous system that is completely reliable.

Levinson highlighted Tesla's reliance on cameras for its driver assistance technology. He argued that developing a safe robotaxi demands more comprehensive hardware than what Tesla currently employs in its vehicles. According to him, a successful robotaxi must not only match human safety standards but exceed them significantly.

This commentary follows an announcement from Musk regarding the Tesla Cybercab prototype. At the Cybercab event, Musk shared plans for Tesla’s Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs to function as robotaxis in California and Texas by the end of 2025.

Although Levinson has hands-on experience with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which he interacts with every couple of weeks, he described the experience as both impressive and concerning. He noted that while the software often performs well, it can unpredictably make errors that provoke anxiety. "It usually does the right thing and then it sort of lulls you into this false sense of complacency, and then it does the wrong thing," he remarked.

Furthermore, Levinson estimates that Tesla's FSD is about 100 times less safe than a human driver when examining available safety metrics—despite Tesla's self-reported safety reports claiming fewer accidents with FSD engaged.

These comments come in the wake of Zoox's announcement about launching its custom-built robotaxi service in the San Francisco and Las Vegas markets soon, with plans to invite early riders to participate in 2025.

Zoox, Tesla, robotaxi