The quarter-over-quarter decline runs counter to Tesla's rhetoric and actions in the past year. Tesla has staked much of its future on the idea of a massive, low-cost, cash-generating Robotaxi fleet ' or going 'balls to the wall for autonomy,' as CEO Elon Musk framed it in 2024. The quarterly step-down in Robotaxi miles also comes amid weakening profits in Tesla's core businesses, which underperformed Wall Street's expectations, according to figures released Wednesday. Tesla's stock plunged more than 13% in early trading on Thursday. At a passing glance, the chart appears to show steady growth in paid Robotaxi rides between August 2025 and June 2026. But the numbers displayed are cumulative, and when broken down by quarter, they show that Tesla's Robotaxi fleet of Model Y SUVs carrying paying passengers covered around 1.1 million miles in the first quarter. That fell to roughly 700,000 miles in the second quarter, a decline of about 36%. It's likely Tesla is counting the paid miles...
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