By buld_online 
After years of anticipation and bold promises, Tesla has officially launched its driverless Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The rollout, which took place over the weekend, marks the first time Tesla vehicles have carried paying passengers without a human driver, a milestone CEO Elon Musk called the “culmination of a decade of hard work.”
The Robotaxi service, using modified Tesla Model Y vehicles, is currently being offered to a small, handpicked group of social media influencers and content creators. According to Musk, each ride is priced at a flat fee of $4.20. The pilot programme is limited to a geofenced area within Austin and operates between 6 am and midnight. The electric vehicle maker has not yet revealed a wider launch timeline or long-term pricing strategy.
Videos shared online show the Robotaxis operating in the bustling South Congress neighbourhood, with passengers seated alone in the rear or front passenger seats. While the cars appear to be fully driverless, Tesla has placed a safety monitor in the front seat during these early rides to oversee operations.
The service is being run with a fleet of approximately 10 to 20 vehicles under close supervision. Tesla built both the AI chip and software powering the Robotaxi entirely in-house, Musk said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
However, the debut comes at a time of increasing regulatory scrutiny. Just days before the launch, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed new legislation requiring autonomous vehicle (AV) operators to obtain a state permit. Though the law doesn’t take effect until 1 September, it introduces more stringent compliance requirements, including mandatory safety assurances, emergency response protocols, and alignment with Level 4 autonomy standards, meaning vehicles must be able to operate without human input under specific conditions.
Tesla now faces stiff competition in Austin, where Alphabet’s Waymo has already partnered with Uber for ride-hailing services and Amazon-backed Zoox is conducting autonomous vehicle trials. While Musk has promised that Robotaxi will soon expand to other US cities, the company has yet to announce a concrete public rollout plan.