Elon Musk and Tesla launched their long-delayed robotaxi service this weekend in Texas. The Verge's Andrew Hawkins explains why so much is riding on its success.

This episode was produced by Devan Schwartz, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Denise Guerra, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

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A Tesla robotaxi in Austin, Texas. Photo by Tim Goessman/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

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