Prime Highlight :
- Tesla has launched fully driverless Robotaxis in Austin, marking a major milestone in its vision for autonomous ride-hailing.
- CEO Elon Musk highlighted the achievement as a testament to Tesla’s AI team and the company’s progress toward widespread self-driving technology.
Key Facts :
- The Austin fleet currently operates with a mix of supervised and unsupervised vehicles, with fully driverless cars expected to expand soon.
- Tesla has received regulatory approval in Texas, paving the way for the commercial deployment of autonomous Robotaxis.
Background :
Tesla has begun operating a small number of its Robotaxi vehicles without a human driver or safety supervisor in Austin, Texas, marking a new step in the company’s push toward fully autonomous ride-hailing services. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk shared the update on Thursday, saying the driverless trips had just started in the city.
In a post on X, Musk congratulated Tesla’s artificial intelligence team and said the vehicles were running without any safety monitor inside the car. Tesla’s Vice President of Software, Ashok Elluswamy, later clarified that the Austin service currently includes a mix of supervised and unsupervised Robotaxis. He added that the share of fully driverless vehicles is expected to increase over time.
Following the announcement, Tesla shares climbed 4.2% to close at $449.36, reflecting renewed investor interest in the company’s autonomy plans. Tesla has faced pressure in recent months as electric vehicle sales have slowed and competition has intensified.
Despite the development, Tesla still trails several rivals in the robotaxi space. Alphabet’s Waymo leads the U.S. market with commercial driverless services, while Baidu’s Apollo Go dominates in China. Amazon-owned Zoox and startups such as Nuro and May Mobility are also expanding driverless operations.
Tesla has regulatory clearance to operate driverless vehicles in Texas under a transportation network permit. However, in California, the company has not yet received approval to run driverless tests or commercial robotaxi services without a human driver ready to take control.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Musk said self-driving technology is close to being solved and predicted widespread Robotaxi availability in the U.S. by the end of the year.