Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that a fully autonomous taxi service will debut in Austin, Texas, this June, ensuring people that what we once thought of as science fiction is now reality.
“This is not some far-off, mythical situation. It’s literally, you know, five, six months away,” adding that he is “confident” that unsupervised FSD will launch across the United States later this year.
However, he also urged caution, stating, “We just want to put a toe in the water.”
Tesla will own and operate the vehicles that are part of this tenuous rollout, much like Alphabet’s Waymo fleet. Reports of Tesla’s intent to launch in Austin began springing up in December 2024.
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Tesla’s self-driving woes
In a letter to Tesla shareholders, Musk says Tesla owners have driven over three billion miles using the vehicle’s supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature as of January 2025. Tesla also posted a video of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles driving “without human intervention” on a 1.2-mile route on Tesla’s private factory roads.
The company’s current FSD is supervised and has issues reconciling unique conditions like wet roads or sun glare. This may be why Tesla is testing its robotaxis in springtime in Texas when the weather is warm and dry.
The automaker is also testing a similar robotaxi service in California. In those rides, a human is behind the wheel and ready to intervene if the self-driving vehicle encounters issues. It’s likely that will only be during the testing phase, though.
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Tesla
Where is the Cybercab?
It’s important to note that this robotaxi service will not use the Cybercab, the fully autonomous vehicle with no physical controls, announced in October 2024. It’s safe to assume that the Model 3 and Model Y will serve as the vehicles for this robotaxi service, at least during its launch phase.
Before mass production of the Cybercab can begin as scheduled in 2026, Tesla will need an exemption permit from the NHTSA. Today, an auto manufacturer can only operate up to 2,500 fully autonomous vehicles without physical controls. Tesla would also need to prove to state regulatory committees that the vehicles and service are safe on the roads.
The NHTSA says Tesla has not yet applied for an exemption, so the Austin-based Robotaxi service could serve as early testing to convince Texas regulators that a service ultimately destined for Cybercab is safe.
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Final thoughts
Musk has been saying self-driving is on the horizon for over a decade but recently admitted that many Tesla owners who purchased FSD would need a hardware upgrade to receive the service.
In the same call, Tesla artificial intelligence and autopilot lead Ashok Elluswamy said the company would release a “baby” version of FSD for cars equipped with the latest hardware. We wonder if this robotaxi service is that “baby” FSD platform in real-world testing.
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