Billionaire visionary Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, has announced that his company will launch a long-awaited robotaxi, or driverless taxi, service in Austin, Texas.
According to his post on the social network X, the service is expected to launch on June 22, 2025. In addition, Musk said that starting on June 28, 2025, his birthday, newly manufactured Tesla Model Y cars will leave the Austin factory and autonomously drive directly to customers' doors, without the need for a driver. This ambitious plan is Tesla's next step toward fully autonomous transportation and marks a significant milestone in self-driving technology.
Elon Musk revealed his plans via a post on social network X, where he gave a specific date for the launch of the robotaxi service and the first autonomous car deliveries to customers. According to Musk, the robotaxi service will initially include a limited number of vehicles, specifically approximately 10 to 20 Model Ys that will be equipped with the latest version of Full Self-Driving (FSD) Unsupervised technology. This version allows the vehicles to drive without a human driver and rely solely on artificial intelligence, cameras and neural networks.
The service will initially be "geofenced," meaning the cars will only operate in certain pre-selected areas of Austin that Musk has identified as the safest.
Tesla has been testing its autonomous Model Y cars on public roads in Austin for several days without a driver behind the wheel. These tests have been without incident, which Musk highlighted as proof of the technology's readiness. The robotaxi service is expected to start with a small fleet of ten vehicles, with Musk planning to quickly expand to hundreds to thousands of cars within a few months if the launch is successful.
Tesla is also working with the City of Austin to develop the service, although some sources suggest that communication with local authorities has not been entirely smooth, particularly regarding the regulatory framework and permitting.
Musk's plan comes at a time when Tesla is facing competitive pressure from companies like Waymo, which already operates commercial robotaxi services in several US cities. Unlike Waymo, which uses sophisticated sensors such as lidar and radar, Tesla relies on its camera- and artificial intelligence-based Tesla Vision system. Musk called the approach "more general" and cheaper, which could allow the service to scale faster.
The announcement sparked excitement among Tesla fans and investors who have long expected Musk to deliver on his promise of fully autonomous vehicles. However, some critics and safety experts have expressed concerns about the readiness of FSD technology. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating FSD-related accidents in low-visibility conditions, increasing pressure on Tesla to prove the safety of its system.
In addition, Musk's political involvement, including his recent conflict with President Donald Trump over the tax bill, has raised speculation about potential regulatory hurdles. Some analysts fear that the Trump administration could step up its oversight of Tesla in response to these disputes. By contrast, Austin, where Tesla is based, is considered a city with relatively benevolent rules for autonomous vehicles, making it easier to test and launch the service.
The launch of the robotaxi service is key for Tesla as Musk has shifted the company's strategic focus from developing new, cheaper electric cars to autonomous technology and humanoid robots like Optimus. According to Musk, autonomy and Optimus are "the only things that really matter in the long run." If the Austin pilot is successful, Tesla plans to expand the service to other cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in the future allow Tesla owners to add their vehicles to the robotaxi network, which could generate additional revenue.
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