Robotaxis are self-driving cars (SAE Level 4 or 5) operated by ridesharing companies, promising to cut costs, reduce pollution, and ease congestion, though studies on safety and traffic impacts remain mixed. While they could eliminate the need for human drivers and make transportation-as-a-service more affordable, they also raise concerns about job losses and liability, highlighted by incidents like the 2018 Uber fatality and 2023 road blockages from lost connectivity. As of 2025, services from companies like Waymo, Baidu, and Tesla are expanding rapidly but still operate at a financial loss, and public trust remains low—only 13% of Americans in a 2025 AAA survey said they would trust a self-driving vehicle. Vehicle costs have plummeted from an estimated $400,000 in 2020 to around $77,000 for Baidu's Apollo and a planned sub-$25,000 Tesla Cybercab, but all current services are confined to geo-fenced areas. Despite early predictions of widespread adoption by 2018, the technology still faces significant technical and social hurdles, including consumer concerns about reliability and safety, meaning the robotaxi revolution is progressing more slowly than initially forecast.