TL;DR
The car that drives itself, then goes out and earns money while its owner sleeps, has been a promise for years. Tesla has now put dates on it. On its October earnings call it said it is trying to sell its pedal-less Cybercab to customers by the end of 2026, and that customer-owned cars should start joining its robotaxi fleet around the second quarter of 2027. It also launched a safety website claiming service in six cities and about 3.1 million autonomous miles with no one injured. If those claims hold, a car could stop being a cost that sits in the driveway and become something that pays for itself. The caution is real: the safety numbers are unaudited and do not even agree with each other, Tesla's targets have slipped before, and federal regulators are asking how a car with no pedals meets a brake rule written around a foot.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "Tesla sells its first Cybercab to a customer by 2026"; and every source.