Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson doesn’t think Tesla will be rolling out a robotaxi ride-hailing service in California (or anywhere else) next year, despite what Elon Musk recently said.

“The main problem is that they don’t have the technology to make it work,” Levinson stated during TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. “When I say ‘work,’ I mean a driver assistance system that works most of the time — except when it doesn’t, and then you have to take control — versus a system that is so reliable and robust that it doesn’t require a person behind the wheel.”

Levinson went even further by pointing out Tesla’s decision to rely solely on cameras to support its driver assistance system. “In our view, you really need a lot more hardware than what Tesla is putting in their vehicles to create a robotaxi that is not only as safe as a human, but even safer,” he added.

His comments come shortly after Musk showcased the prototype of Tesla’s “Cybercab” robotaxi. Musk also mentioned at the event that Tesla aims to allow Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs to operate as robotaxis in California and Texas by the end of 2025.

Levinson admitted to using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software “every couple of weeks.” While he found it “impressive,” he also admitted that it can be “a bit stressful.” “It usually does the right thing, and then it makes a mistake, giving you a false sense of security, and then it surprises you,” Levinson explained.

He went on to say that, based on publicly available data, he believes FSD is “about 100 times less safe than a human.” (Tesla regularly releases safety reports claiming that its driver-assistance technology results in fewer accidents compared to vehicles without it, although these reports have faced criticism for being selective.)

Levinson made these remarks as he announced that Zoox will be launching its custom-built robotaxi in the San Francisco and Las Vegas markets in the next few weeks. The company aims to introduce them to an early-rider program in 2025.