NEW YORK CITY, New York: Elon Musk is taking a big step toward making his long-promised robotaxi dream a reality. Over the weekend, Tesla began testing a small group of self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas. If this trial goes well, Musk plans to expand the service to other cities later this year.

The pilot program is modest for now. Only about 10 to 12 Teslas are being used, and they operate within a limited area of Austin. Each ride costs a flat fee of US$4.20. The cars are monitored remotely, and a person is sitting in the passenger seat for safety in case anything goes wrong.

Musk has been promising self-driving robotaxis since 2019, saying they would be on the roads "next year." Each year, the promise was repeated but never fulfilled. In 2023, he said there would be over a million robotaxis by 2024. Now, that goal still seems far away.

Meanwhile, competitors like Waymo have already launched driverless taxi services in several U.S. cities and recently completed 10 million paid rides. Unlike Tesla, Waymo uses more advanced and costly technology, including radar and laser sensors, to help its cars navigate.

Tesla has faced several challenges recently. Political controversies involving Musk have affected the company's image and hurt car sales. Some investors were alarmed when $150 billion was wiped off Tesla's stock value after Musk got into an argument with the U.S. president. Although the stock has since recovered, confidence remains shaky.

Still, many investors continue to back Musk, remembering how Tesla's stock has grown over the years. A decade ago, Tesla shares were $18; now they're over $300.

Some experts remain cautious. Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA, said the current rollout is very small, and it's unclear how quickly Musk can scale up. Seth Goldstein from Morningstar believes it could take until 2028 before robotaxis are widely available.

Musk has also faced criticism for overstating the ability of Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) system. Despite its name, the system still requires the driver's attention and is not fully autonomous. The U.S. government has investigated the system after several accidents, and Tesla has faced lawsuits, some settled and others dismissed.

Despite all this, Musk remains optimistic. He says the new robotaxis will run on an improved FSD system and that Tesla cars already on the road could be converted into taxis through a software update. That, he claims, could help Tesla grow its robotaxi network quickly across the country.

However, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities and a strong supporter of Musk, believes Musk might succeed this time thanks to Tesla's ability to scale rapidly. Even skeptics like Morningstar's Goldstein admit that Musk does sometimes deliver — and when he does, it's often in a big way.

"Maybe his timelines aren't realistic," Goldstein says, "but he can develop futuristic technology products."