From The Duke of Middleville.

Tesla has been very confident about RoboTaxis and full self-driving vehicles operating without drivers across the United States. But the hardest part of the RoboTaxi business is not the technology — it is getting permission to operate in the cities where RoboTaxis actually make sense.

In this video, I break down why Tesla RoboTaxis may face major regulatory challenges in America’s largest cities, even if the technology itself works. I explain how city governments — not just states — control permits, insurance requirements, operating rules, and public trust.

Using real data, I show how most of the largest and most valuable RoboTaxi markets in the United States are governed by Democratic city leadership, which tends to be more cautious and liability-focused when approving new technology. This does not mean Tesla cannot operate in these cities — but it does mean approvals may be slower, more conditional, and negotiated city by city.

I also explain why LiDAR matters to regulators from a legal and auditability standpoint, how one high-profile RoboTaxi accident could change the approval landscape overnight, and why Tesla’s strategy is fundamentally harder than many people assume.

Finally, I compare Tesla’s RoboTaxi approach to Rivian’s focus on personal level-four autonomy, which avoids many of the regulatory hurdles that commercial RoboTaxis face.

This is not a Tesla doom video. Tesla remains one of the most advanced companies in the world when it comes to self-driving technology. This video is about regulatory reality, city-level approvals, and why scaling RoboTaxis nationwide is more complex than hype suggests.

👇 Next video: I break down Tesla full self-driving pricing versus Rivian universal hands-free driving — and why the real cost of autonomy is higher than most people think.

#teslafsd #robotaxi #rivian #electricvehicles #autonomousdriving