Respectfully, I don't think it is, and the tone of your reply suggests you assume it'd go badly. Other than being (perhaps) slightly more expansive as a question, I really don't get what the big deal is. It's an opener. I'll happily give it a go and I'm fairly certain it'll be fine.

Edit: by badly, I mean badly for me. I'm getting a bunch of downvotes above - obviously this is just my opinion, based on my interactions with people over the last few years.

It’s really blowing my mind both that people seem to have never asked this question, or can’t imagine it going well. I find it extremely easy to ask strangers in a friendly, casual way and get interesting responses. Sometimes people don’t know where to start, so it’s good to have some suggestions (say, asking about music they like or books or art or whatever).

I prefer being asked “tell me about yourself” because it allows me to choose to what depth and on what topics I want to open up about. I get to talk about things I find interesting in my life currently to the extent I want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about my job or my company to people at work let alone strangers.