Tesla’s penis-shaped Robotaxi expansion illustrates how unserious the business is
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2025
Tesla has expanded the service area of its Robotaxi pilot in Austin, Texas, but the move has drawn criticism after the new map appeared to form a crude shape resembling male genitalia. The change has led many to question the seriousness of Tesla’s approach to autonomous driving.
Tesla initially launched the Robotaxi service last month for a small group of X (formerly Twitter) influencers, with a Tesla employee supervising the ride from the front passenger seat, finger on a kill switch. Essentially, it mirrored Tesla’s current supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed last week that the service would be expanded, and by Sunday, the new map was live. Critics say the update serves no functional purpose and only reflects Musk’s immature humor. “Tesla is charging $4.20 a ride, clearly a nod to Musk’s favorite numbers: 69 and 420,” an Electrek report noted.
Meanwhile, competitors like Waymo are operating truly driverless vehicles across wider areas without supervision—in Austin, San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, and more.
While Tesla fans remain hopeful, Electrek wrote, “Maybe don’t draw a penis with the service map when the whole service already feels like a joke.”