Tesla has officially started testing its driverless “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas. After years of hype (and some big promises from Elon Musk), the cars are finally hitting the road—with no one in the driver’s seat.
If this sounds like déjà vu, you're not wrong. Other companies like Waymo have already been running similar driverless cab services in places like LA, San Francisco, and yep, even Austin. But Tesla’s version has been years in the making. Musk first said it would launch in 2020. Fast forward to now, and it's finally getting real.
So, what’s actually happening?
On Sunday, Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter):
“The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin this afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!”
Classic Elon.
Videos from the launch showed passengers in the backseat, a Tesla staff member riding shotgun, and an empty driver's seat. About 10 robotaxis were sent out across Austin, with remote teams keeping tabs on them.
Not the best timing for Tesla…
The rollout comes during a rocky stretch for the company. Just weeks ago, Tesla’s stock tanked by over 14% in a single day, mostly due to a public fallout between Musk and Donald Trump. That followed a bigger dip in March when people worldwide started boycotting Tesla over Musk’s political ties.
The robotaxi test seemed to give the company a little boost—Tesla shares jumped about 8% after the launch.
Can you try one yet?
Not unless you’ve been invited. Right now, Tesla’s robotaxis are limited to small areas of Austin, and access is on an invite-only basis. Musk says that’s just the beginning. He’s claimed Tesla will have hundreds of thousands of these fully autonomous cars on U.S. roads by the end of 2026, with plans to expand to cities like San Francisco, LA, and San Antonio.
Are they really self-driving?
Tesla’s been calling its system “Full Self-Driving” for a while now—but it’s not quite what it sounds like. The current version still requires drivers to stay alert and ready to take over. That’s led to criticism and a federal investigation after several crashes, including one fatal incident involving a pedestrian.
Musk says the robotaxis will use a more advanced version of the system and that they’ll be totally safe.
But early footage from Sunday’s test runs shows some rough edges. In the video shown above (at around 7 minutes, 16 seconds), a robotaxi gives up on a left turn and briefly drives into the wrong lane. Luckily, there were no other cars nearby.
Would you trust a Tesla to drive you around with no one behind the wheel? Or are you waiting to see if these things actually work without pulling into oncoming traffic?
Let’s hear it...
