According to media reports, on June 22, Tesla deployed a small fleet of autonomous robotaxis in Austin, Texas, officially beginning paid passenger rides. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the launch of the "robotaxi" service with great fanfare, and social media influencers shared videos of their first rides.
That morning, several Tesla robotaxis were spotted in the South Congress neighborhood of Austin. The driver's seat was empty, with only one passenger seated in the front passenger seat. Reports indicate that Tesla has deployed around 10 test vehicles for this limited pilot program. The front-seat passenger acts as a "safety operator," though the extent of their control over the vehicle remains unclear.
This marks the first time Tesla vehicles are carrying paying passengers without a human driver onboard. Musk considers this development crucial to Tesla's financial future.
He described the moment on social platform X as "the result of a decade of hard work" and emphasized that "Tesla built the AI chip and software team entirely in-house."
Tesla has also invited select social media influencers to participate in test rides of the robotaxi service within a geofenced and closely monitored area. Musk stated on X that the rides have a flat fare of just $4.20 per trip.
Tesla investor and social media personality Sawyer Merritt posted a video on X on the afternoon of June 22, showing his experience ordering a ride through Tesla's robotaxi app, being picked up, and taken to a nearby bar and restaurant called Frazier's Long and Low.
However, industry experts caution that even if this small-scale deployment proves successful, Tesla faces significant hurdles in scaling the service rapidly in Austin and beyond, as Musk has pledged.
Philip Koopman, a professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and a well-known expert in autonomous driving, said that Tesla-like rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo-may still be years, or even decades, away from fully realizing the potential of autonomous ride-hailing.
Koopman noted that a successful pilot in Austin would signal "the beginning of a new phase, not the end of the journey" for Tesla.
Tesla remains the world's most valuable automaker by market capitalization. Many industry analysts believe that the company's lofty stock price is largely dependent on its ability to successfully launch autonomous robotaxis and humanoid robots.
However, just days before Tesla's robotaxi launch, Texas lawmakers began drafting new regulations for autonomous vehicles. On June 20, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a bill requiring autonomous vehicle operators to obtain state authorization. The law will take effect on September 1, indicating bipartisan interest in ensuring the responsible development of driverless technology.
Tesla has not responded to media requests for comment, and the Texas governor's office also declined to comment.
