Tesla to Highway its Austin robotaxi service, eliminating safety drivers and operating within designated zones, as announced by Elon Musk
Tesla Launches Robotaxi Service in Austin, Texas
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has confirmed the launch of the company's robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, starting June 2025. The service, which uses Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, will initially include around 10 vehicles and may scale to 1000 if the rollout goes smoothly [1].
The service will utilise FSD Unsupervised, a version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology that allows operation without a human driver. The vehicles will be geofenced, or restricted, to certain parts of Austin, and will avoid complex or high-risk driving situations, such as difficult intersections, unless the system has high confidence in its ability to handle them autonomously [2].
While remote operation capability exists for safety interventions, the cars are not yet operated entirely remotely by employees. The Austin June 2025 robotaxi launch uses company-owned vehicles with safety operators onboard and remote monitoring staff [1]. The remote assistants provide oversight and can intervene remotely if the vehicle encounters issues, but this is not equivalent to fully remote driving control—rather it is safety monitoring and intervention capability [2].
Tesla has plans to expand the robotaxi network to include owner vehicles, potentially allowing more remote operation or income generation starting in 2026. However, as of the Austin June 2025 launch, employees do not remotely drive the cars continuously; they act as remote supervisors who can intervene if needed [1].
Musk is confident about the success of Tesla's internal testing, which has shown "essentially no interventions" during 24/7 monitored drives [3]. If the rollout goes well, Musk aims to have hundreds of thousands, or potentially over a million, FSD Unsupervised vehicles on U.S. roads by 2026 [4].
The interview between Elon Musk and CNBC's David Faber, which took place on May 20, 2025, can be found at the provided link. Musk did not clarify whether employees can remotely operate the cars, as has been suggested [5].
[1] https://www.tesla.com/robotaxi [2] https://www.tesla.com/support/autopilot/autonomous-driving [3] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1427633344018968576 [4] https://www.tesla.com/autopilot [5] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/elon-musk-on-teslas-robotaxi-service-and-plans-for-autonomous-vehicles.html
- The launch of Tesla's robotaxi service, which utilizes advancements in technology and automotive engineering, marks a significant step for the transportation industry, as it aims to revolutionize finance by offering autonomous taxi services.
- By potentially scaling the Austin robotaxi service to include thousands of vehicles, Tesla's move into the finance sector through its robotaxi service could have far-reaching implications for the industry, particularly in terms of finance, technology, and transportation integration.
