# Report: Tesla’s Robotaxi trainers don’t think it’s ready for prime time > Source: > Published: 2026-05-28 13:53:55+00:00 # Report: Tesla’s Robotaxi trainers don’t think it’s ready for prime time If you listen to [Tesla](https://robinhood.com/us/en/stocks/TSLA/?source=sherwood) CEO Elon Musk, you might think rapid expansion of the company’s Robotaxi service is right around the corner. If you listen to the people tasked with reviewing the footage and training its AI, that future is a long way off. An [in-depth report from Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/investigations/why-teslas-ai-trainers-dont-trust-its-self-driving-tech-or-its-safety-stats-2026-05-28/) that interviewed nine former “data labelers” and a former Tesla self-driving engineer paints a picture of highly massaged safety stats, vehicles failing to execute basic driving functions, and a behind-the-scenes reality where the supposedly “autonomous” tech relies heavily on the exact kind of localized, labor-intensive mapping and training Musk has publicly [mocked](https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/elon-musk-waymos-autonomous-tech). The skepticism runs so deep that one former insider told reporters they wouldn’t ride in a Robotaxi “if you f---ing paid me.” Currently, the service is operating about [30 unsupervised vehicles](https://robotaxitracker.com/?provider=tesla&area=austin) across three Texas cities — a much more circumscribed execution than Musk had initially planned. The problem, for Tesla, is that the success of its Robotaxi business is now integral to the company’s [value proposition](https://sherwood.news/tech/a-chronological-look-at-teslas-changing-value-proposition/). An [in-depth report from Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/investigations/why-teslas-ai-trainers-dont-trust-its-self-driving-tech-or-its-safety-stats-2026-05-28/) that interviewed nine former “data labelers” and a former Tesla self-driving engineer paints a picture of highly massaged safety stats, vehicles failing to execute basic driving functions, and a behind-the-scenes reality where the supposedly “autonomous” tech relies heavily on the exact kind of localized, labor-intensive mapping and training Musk has publicly [mocked](https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/elon-musk-waymos-autonomous-tech). The skepticism runs so deep that one former insider told reporters they wouldn’t ride in a Robotaxi “if you f---ing paid me.” Currently, the service is operating about [30 unsupervised vehicles](https://robotaxitracker.com/?provider=tesla&area=austin) across three Texas cities — a much more circumscribed execution than Musk had initially planned. The problem, for Tesla, is that the success of its Robotaxi business is now integral to the company’s [value proposition](https://sherwood.news/tech/a-chronological-look-at-teslas-changing-value-proposition/).