11 of 13 promised tech dates we track have slipped.
Every time a company or the government gives a public date for something arriving in the UK, we write it down. Then we check whether it happened.
- Slipped
- 85%11 of 13 decided
- Kept
- 2on time or early
- Typical slip
- 7 momedian, where slipped
- Still open
- 14deadlines not reached yet
As of 7 Nov 2026. 27 promises across 13 board items. Download the data (CSV).
By category
- Self-driving cars and robotaxis0 kept, 2 slipped, 4 open
- Drone and robot delivery0 kept, 2 slipped, 0 open
- Smart glasses and wearables0 kept, 1 slipped, 3 open
- Home robots1 kept, 2 slipped, 4 open
- AI tools for work1 kept, 1 slipped, 1 open
- Air taxis0 kept, 3 slipped, 2 open
Every promise
| Item | The promise | Said | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta VR Glasses | UK launch“early 2027” (Meta, source) | Still openDeadline 30 Apr 2027 | |
| Tesla Optimus | Sales to other companies“likely to be towards the end of next year” (Tesla, Q3 2026 earnings call, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2027 | |
| Gemini in Google Workspace | Skills rolled out in the Gemini app“Gradual rollout starting on October 13, 2026, with expected completion by mid-November, 2026” (Google, source) | Still openDeadline 30 Nov 2026 | |
| Deliveroo robot delivery (Coco Robotics) | Robot deliveries start in Canary Wharf“this October” (Deliveroo and Coco Robotics, source) | Missed0 months overdue and counting | |
| Gemini in Google Workspace | Skills rolled out in Workspace (Rapid Release domains)“Gradual rollout starting on October 5, 2026, with expected completion by October 12, 2026” (Google, source) | Missed1 month overdue and counting | |
| Meta VR Glasses | UK launch“Spring 2027” (Meta, source) | Still openDeadline 31 May 2027 | |
| UK driverless taxi and bus pilots (Automated Vehicles Act) | Apollo Go public robotaxi rides in London“2027, subject to regulatory approval” (Baidu and Freenow by Lyft, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2027 | |
| Tesla Optimus | Fremont production start“later this year” (Tesla, Q2 2026 update, source) | KeptHappened 21 Oct 2026 | |
| Vertical Aerospace Valo air taxi | Type certification (VX4, now Valo)“2029” (Vertical Aerospace, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2029 | |
| Snap Specs AR glasses | UK shipping“this fall” (Snap, source) | Still openDeadline 30 Nov 2026 | |
| UK driverless taxi and bus pilots (Automated Vehicles Act) | Driverless taxi and bus pilots carrying passengers“later this year” (Department for Transport, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2026 | |
| Tesla Optimus | Fremont production start“late July or August” (Tesla, Q1 2026 earnings call, source) | Pushed backMoved back 2 months | |
| Tesla Optimus | Sales to the public“by the end of next year” (Elon Musk, at Davos, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2027 | |
| Vertical Aerospace Valo air taxi | UK air taxi network with Skyports and Bristow“Q1 2029” (Vertical Aerospace, Skyports and Bristow, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Mar 2029 | |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | Launch, including the UK“December 1, 2025” (Microsoft, source) | KeptHappened 1 Dec 2025 | |
| 1X NEO | US customer deliveries“2026” (1X, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2026 | |
| 1X NEO | Deliveries outside the US“starting in 2027” (1X, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2027 | |
| Waymo London | London rides with no one behind the wheel“in 2026” (Waymo, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2026 | |
| Meta Ray-Ban Display | UK launch“early 2026” (Meta, source) | LateHappened 23 Sept 2026, 5 months late | |
| Wayve × Uber robotaxis (London) | Fully driverless (Level 4) trials in London“spring 2026” (UK Government, in the Uber and Wayve announcement, source) | Missed5 months overdue and counting | |
| UK driverless taxi and bus pilots (Automated Vehicles Act) | Driverless taxi and bus pilots carrying passengers“spring 2026” (Department for Transport, source) | Pushed backMoved back 7 months | |
| UK driverless taxi and bus pilots (Automated Vehicles Act) | Full Automated Vehicles Act regime in force“from the second half of 2027” (Department for Transport, source) | Still openDeadline 31 Dec 2027 | |
| Vertical Aerospace Valo air taxi | Type certification (VX4, now Valo)“2028” (Vertical Aerospace, source) | Pushed backMoved back 12 months | |
| Tesla Optimus | Sales to other companies“hopefully … 2026” (Elon Musk, on X, source) | Pushed backMoved back 12 months | |
| Amazon Prime Air drone delivery (Darlington) | UK drone deliveries“late 2024” (Amazon, source) | LateHappened 1 Feb 2026, 13 months late | |
| Vertical Aerospace Valo air taxi | Type certification (VX4, now Valo)“end of 2026” (Vertical Aerospace, source) | Pushed backMoved back 24 months | |
| Vertical Aerospace Valo air taxi | Type certification (VX4, now Valo)“2025” (Vertical Aerospace, source) | Pushed backMoved back 12 months |
How it works
What counts as a promise. A date a company, or the UK government for regulation, gave in public: a press release, an official blog or web page, an earnings call or an on-the-record interview. Rumours, leaks and analyst forecasts don't count. Every promise links to its source.
Reading the window. Companies rarely give a day, so we read every window generously and take its last day as the deadline: a year means 31 December, "early" means 30 April, "mid" means 31 August, spring means 31 May, summer 31 August, autumn or "fall" 30 November, a quarter means its last day and a month means its last day.
Verdicts. Kept: it happened by the deadline. Late: it happened, after the deadline. Missed: the deadline passed and it hasn't happened. Pushed back: before the deadline, the company gave a later date for the same thing. Still open: the deadline hasn't arrived. The slip rate is late, missed and pushed back as a share of every promise that has been decided, so open promises don't flatter or punish anyone.
Each statement counts separately. If a company moves a date twice, that's three promises: two pushed back and one still open. Months of slip are measured from the deadline to the day it happened, to the new deadline, or to today if it's still overdue. Repeating the same deadline doesn't count as a new promise.
What it covers. Promises about the items on our board, going back as far as the public record allows. The board leans towards things that haven't arrived yet, which is worth bearing in mind; we record kept promises as readily as broken ones, and a company that hits its dates will show up here as kept. Some sectors slip as a matter of course: first certification dates for new aircraft, for example, are rarely met. So compare promises within a category as well as across them.
Use it. You're welcome to quote or chart the Slip Index with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). The full data is available as a CSV download. Spotted a promise we've missed, or think a verdict is wrong? Email hello@landingsoon.co.uk.
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