monitor in the car.” Tesla’s stock immediately jumped over 4% on the news. Headlines across the financial press celebrated the milestone.
There’s just one problem: it appears to be another game of smoke and mirrors. The Robotaxi cars spotted without “safety monitor” were all being followed by a trailing black Tesla supervising the “driverless” Robotaxi.
That headline definitely made me laugh, but it also says a lot about Tesla’s approach. They move fast, sometimes too fast, and let real-world usage expose flaws instead of overengineering upfront. Removing safety monitors feels risky from the outside, yet it fits their pattern of betting on data and iteration. Investors either see that as bold innovation or unnecessary risk, depending on tolerance for surprises.