A Polymarket betting market got a little complicated by the disappointing launch.
Why anyone believes the things that come out of Elon Musk’s mouth is a mystery. The vaporware king has peddled so many outlandish claims over the years that it’s difficult to keep a tally. Still, for whatever reason, he retains a small but devoted following who think his utterances are prophetic prognostications rather than the creative ideations of a sci-fi fanboy.
One of Musk’s recent dubious claims was that Tesla would launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, by June, claiming that the service was “tentatively scheduled” to occur on the 22nd of that month. No sooner had he made this promise than a bet sprung up on Polymarket, the Peter Thiel-backed gambling site, over whether it would come to pass or not. Musk subsequently highlighted the bet on X, calling it a “Money-making opportunity.”
The bet’s page asks the question: “Will Tesla launch a driverless Robotaxi service before July?” In its description of the terms of the bet, the page states: “This market will resolve to ‘Yes’ if Tesla publicly launches a fully driverless taxi service by June 30, 11:59 PM ET. Otherwise, it will resolve to ‘No.’” the page states. “Any service that allows a member of the general public to summon and ride in a Tesla vehicle operating without any human—onboard or remote—actively controlling the vehicle will count.
