A mannequin simulating a child crossing the street to board a school bus was crushed over and over again by a Tesla equipped with a self-driving feature on Thursday—safety advocates' latest warning of weaknesses in the automaker's tech as it prepares to launch robotaxis on Austin roads.

Musk said in a social media post this week that Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi service will roll onto the streets of Austin, Texas on June 22. The Tesla CEO is betting the company’s future on autonomous vehicles (AV) and a robotaxi service – which will hopefully inject much-needed cash just as the company’s sales and profits are slumping.

Tesla Inc. already had a lot riding on its highly anticipated robotaxi launch long before Elon Musk decided to swing a wrecking ball through his alliance with President Donald Trump — and the

Texans will have to wait a little while longer for Elon Musk's inaugural fleet of Tesla robotaxis to hit the Lone Star State.

Even as Tesla deliveries plunged nationally this year amid Elon Musk's very visible (if short-lived) alliance with President Trump, there was at least one state where Tesla registrations were up: Texas.

Free car giveaways are typically associated with TV game shows, radio sweepstakes, or halftime contests, but right now there’s one being hosted directly by an automaker. By participating in Tesla’s “TeslaVision” contest, you could score a brand-new Model Y and a private tour of the Texas Gigafactory.

Some Texans weren't perturbed by Tesla's growing unpopularity earlier this year, as registrations of Tesla EVs saw a boost in Texas. According to registration data Axios obtained through public information requests,

With Tesla just days away from a planned rollout of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, the electric vehicle manufacturer is reportedly trying to prevent city officials from releasing records related to its robotaxi trial period.