On Monday, Tesla Motors (TSLA.US) CEO Elon Musk participated via video link at the Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv, presenting a series of forward-looking predictions on cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots, space exploration, and brain-computer interfaces. Musk stated that he expects fully autonomous vehicles without safety drivers to become more widespread across the United States in the second half of this year, and that approximately 90% of road mileage will be driven autonomously within ten years.
Musk indicated during the summit that fully autonomous vehicles without safety monitors are already operating on roads in Texas, and he anticipates this model will expand nationwide within the year. Currently, Tesla operates Robotaxi services in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas, primarily utilizing the 2025 Model Y. In November of last year, Tesla secured a permit to operate ride-hailing services in Arizona. The company has confirmed plans to expand services to Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas in the first half of 2026, bringing the total to eight cities including Austin.
The native operational vehicle designed for autonomous ride services, the Cybercab, officially entered production in April 2026. First unveiled at the "WE, ROBOT" event in October 2024, the vehicle features no steering wheel or pedals and operates entirely on the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, with a price not exceeding $30,000. Recent aerial footage shows that the number of Cybercabs parked at the Texas factory has increased from over 40 to more than 70 units.
Musk remains highly optimistic about the long-term prospects of autonomous driving technology. He predicts that in five to ten years, around 90% of road mileage will be completed by AI-driven autonomous vehicles. "By then, driving your own car will be quite a niche activity," he remarked.
This statement continues Musk's longstanding, high-profile forecasts regarding autonomous driving. Over the past decade, Musk has made numerous bold predictions about self-driving cars, many of which have not materialized according to his timelines. Moreover, Tesla's own progress faces significant challenges. As of May 14, 2026, data from the third-party tracking site Robotaxi Tracker indicates that Tesla operates only 39 unsupervised Robotaxis on U.S. roads—27 in Austin, 5 in Dallas, and 6 in Houston. Journalists testing the service have reported widespread issues such as excessively long wait times, complete unavailability during certain periods, and drop-off points far from passenger destinations.
Since Tesla announced the expansion of services to Dallas and Houston on April 19, third-party data shows availability in these cities has fluctuated between 0% and 2%. In terms of deployment scale, Tesla lags notably behind competitor Waymo, which has deployed approximately 3,000 fully driverless vehicles, completes over 500,000 trips weekly, and offers 24/7 service without safety drivers.
Additionally, Musk previously cautioned that due to new supply chain constraints, initial Cybercab production will be "very slow," with exponential growth expected only by year-end. Industry-wide safety concerns persist as well. This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Tesla is recalling 218,868 vehicles in the U.S. due to a rearview camera image delay issue that could increase collision risk. Over the past year, NHTSA has received 30 accident reports related to Tesla's Autopilot system, five of which involved serious injuries. Waymo also recalled about 3,800 autonomous taxis last week in the U.S. after identifying risks of vehicles entering flooded areas and high-speed zones, raising safety concerns.
Beyond autonomous driving, Musk shared predictions on other frontier fields at the summit. He stated that SpaceX is nearing a breakthrough in reusable rocket launch systems, which would significantly reduce spaceflight costs. "We might achieve this within the year," he noted. "Once this technology matures, it will be a watershed moment in human history, propelling us toward becoming a spacefaring civilization."
In the field of brain-computer interfaces, Musk revealed that Neuralink will perform its first Blindsight device implantation surgery later this year. The device aims to restore vision to individuals born blind or with visual impairments. He mentioned this would provide them with "initially limited vision, but over time, potentially very precise or even superhuman visual capabilities." The company is also developing technology to help paralyzed patients walk again.
Musk further predicted that humanoid robots will be "almost ubiquitous" in about a decade. As robotic productivity is unleashed, it is expected to drive economic growth and usher in an era of "universal high income."
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