Tesla launches robotaxi rides in Austin with big promises and unanswered questions

Tesla has started giving rides in driverless Model Y SUVs in Austin, a decade after CEO Elon Musk began making — and breaking — myriad promises about his company’s ability to launch such a service. 

The rollout will become the first big test of Musk’s belief that it’s possible to safely deploy fully autonomous vehicles using just cameras and end-to-end AI – an approach that differs from other players in the space like Waymo. 

On Sunday, numerous videos shared on social media as well as sources in the city, confirmed what Musk has been teasing for months: that the rides are finally happening, at a surely coincidental flat fee of $4.20 per ride.

Tesla sent early-access invitations in the past week to vetted customers, who were able to download and use the new robotaxi app on Sunday to hail rides. It’s unclear how many people have received this invitation. But posts on Musk’s social media platform X show that many of them went to Tesla’s loudest online supporters.

The invitations, along with a new robotaxi information page published on Tesla’s website on June 22, confirm the service will operate every day from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m but “may be limited or unavailable in the event of inclement weather.” And, notably, a Tesla employee will be sitting in the right front passenger seat as a “safety monitor.” 

The robotaxi information page also includes instructions on downloading the app, how to report a lost item, and general rules for riders. It still glosses over the kind of specifics that Waymo — the Alphabet-owned AV company that operates commercial robotaxis in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin — has historically provided. 

The robotaxi service will be small to start, according to Musk. The initial fleet will be about 10 or so 2025 Model Y SUVs operating in a narrowly defined area of South Austin. That’s in line with a first-hand account by Ed Niedermeyer, author of “Ludicrous, The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors,” who is in Austin to monitor the robotaxi rollout. (Niedermeyer is a co-host of The Autonocast with TechCrunch editor Kirsten Korosec.)

Neidermeyer found what appears to be a Tesla robotaxi depot — a nondescript parking lot dotted with trees near Oltorf Street in South Austin. The day before the launch, he spotted several driverless Model Ys — always with an employee behind the steering wheel — entering and exiting the parking lot. Groups of other Tesla Model Y vehicles, most with manufacturer plates, were also parked there. 

This morning, he spotted the branded Tesla Model Y robotaxis, this time with the employee in the front passenger seat, leaving the holding area. He observed one of the branded robotaxis, which had not yet picked up a rider, suddenly hitting its brakes two separate times — once in the middle of an intersection. It’s unclear why the vehicle behaved that way. However, in a video, which TechCrunch has viewed and has since been posted on YouTube, both instances occurred as the Tesla passed by police vehicles that were located in parking lots adjacent to the roadway.

Information gaps

Leading up to the launch, Musk shared dribs and drabs about the Tesla robotaxi launch in a few interviews and posts on X. Even now, nearly all of the information about the robotaxi launch has been provided by the company’s biggest supporters. 

In fact, Tesla has actively tried to suppress information about the robotaxi service. Tesla tried to block TechCrunch’s public records request with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The company has also tried to block the city of Austin from fulfilling a records request by Reuters, according to the news service. 

“Tesla seeks to be as transparent as possible, however, as explained further below, some of the requested information cannot be released because it is confidential information, trade secrets, and/or business information exchanged with the TxDOT in conjunction with conducting business with TxDOT,” Taylor White, senior counsel on infrastructure for Tesla, wrote in a letter to the Texas Attorney General’s office in April.

One of the more interesting rollout strategies is the company’s use of a human “safety monitor.” 

It’s unclear what role these safety monitors will play and how much, if any control, they will have. These employees are likely not meant to try and intervene if the software is about to do something wrong. But they may have access to some sort of kill switch that can stop the car if that does happen.

Historically, autonomous vehicle companies like Waymo and former Cruise tested their respective self-driving technology by having a human safety operator behind the wheel and a second engineer in the front passenger seat. Eventually, that might be reduced to one person sitting in the passenger seat before removing them altogether. This practice was traditionally done during the testing phase — not commercial operations. 

Tesla is not using the futuristic vehicles, dubbed Cybercabs, that were revealed on October 10, 2024. Instead, the 2025 Tesla Model Y vehicles are equipped with what Musk describes as a new, “unsupervised” version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. 

Tesla will not be using its in-cabin camera during rides by default. The company says it will only be used if a rider requests support or in the case of an emergency. It will use the camera after a ride ends to “confirm Robotaxi’s readiness for its next trip.” 

Tesla is encouraging early access riders to take photos and video of their experiences, although it says it “may suspend or terminate Robotaxi access” if riders violate its rules, including if they “disseminate content on a social media platform or similar medium depicting a violation of these Rules or misuse of the Robotaxi.” (That includes riders agreeing not to smoke, vape, drink alcohol, do drugs, or use the robotaxi in connection with a crime.) 

Musk and other Tesla executives praised the milestone on X, with Ashok Elluswamy, the head of the company’s self-driving team, posting a photo of the “Robotaxi launch party” from an undisclosed location.

“Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI  software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!! Culmination of a decade of hard work,” Musk wrote.

But at least one rider on Sunday reported having an experience where Tesla’s remote support team had to help in some way. It’s not immediately clear what happened during that ride, but that same rider later said the ride was very smooth.