Austin: Tesla began offering paid rides in self-driving vehicles without human drivers on Sunday in Austin, Texas.
The launch, described by CEO Elon Musk as the culmination of a decade of hard work, is the electric carmaker’s first deployment of robotaxis with paying customers.
The rollout features approximately 10 Tesla vehicles operating within a limited zone in the city’s South Congress neighborhood.
Front-seat passengers, acting as safety monitors, are monitoring the cars, which are equipped with Tesla’s in-house AI chip and vision-based self-driving system.
Tesla offered the initial rides for a flat fee of $4.20, with access restricted to a select group of invited users and social-media influencers.
Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!
Culmination of a decade of hard work.
Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2025
The high-profile launch coincided with the signing of a new Texas law regulating autonomous vehicles. Governor Greg Abbott on Friday enacted legislation requiring a state permit for any operator running fully driverless vehicles on public roads.
The law, effective September 1, empowers the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to approve or revoke such permits and mandates safety information for emergency responders.
The law represents a shift from Texas’s previous light-touch approach to autonomous vehicle oversight. A 2017 state law specifically blocked cities from regulating self-driving cars.
The new statute now requires companies to attest that their vehicles meet safety standards and possess at least “Level 4” autonomy, the capability to drive without human input within defined operational limits.
Tesla Robotaxi is officially here!!! pic.twitter.com/3KxiJabXdN
— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) June 22, 2025
For Tesla, the robotaxi rollout is more than a technological achievement, it’s a critical component of the company’s long-term business model.
Tesla’s approach differs sharply from competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon-owned Zoox, which rely on a combination of lidar, radar, and cameras. Tesla uses only cameras, a decision Musk defends as safer and less expensive despite criticism from some in the industry.
Musk has pledged a cautious approach to the rollout, with operations confined to favorable weather, simple road conditions, and riders over the age of 18. He said Tesla would be super paranoid about safety, following high-profile setbacks elsewhere in the industry, including GM’s Cruise service, which was suspended after a serious accident.
