What to know about Elon Musk’s ‘Robotaxis’

Tesla has launched its long-awaited robotaxi service, beginning test runs in Austin, Texas, over the weekend.

The move marks a major step toward Elon Musk’s vision of a fully autonomous vehicle network—years after he first promised it.

Here’s what you need to know about the rollout.

On Sunday, Tesla began operating around 10 driverless vehicles in limited areas of Austin. The robotaxis are currently available by invitation only, and monitored remotely by Tesla staff during the test phase.

“The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin this afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!” Musk announced on X. He later reposted videos from users sharing their first-hand experience of riding in driverless cars.

In one clip, a passenger showed the front seat completely empty, with a Tesla employee sitting in the passenger seat for supervision.

Tesla is entering a space already occupied by rivals like Waymo, which operates driverless services in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin itself. But Musk’s robotaxi launch is symbolically significant—it follows a promise he made back in 2019 to get autonomous cabs on the road “next year.”

The robotaxi launch comes at a rocky moment for Tesla. Earlier this month, the company’s stock plunged by over 14% amid a public clash between Musk and President Donald Trump. That drop was Tesla’s worst single-day performance since March, when a global boycott—triggered by Musk’s political associations—sent shares tumbling.

However, Tesla stock rebounded about 8% after the robotaxi trial began.

Tesla’s other vehicles already advertise a “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) feature, but federal regulators have repeatedly pointed out that the system isn’t truly autonomous—drivers still need to be ready to take control.

The NHTSA is currently investigating Tesla’s self-driving software after several incidents, including a fatal crash involving a pedestrian.

Musk says the robotaxis use a new, more advanced system. But on Sunday, at least one test video showed a robotaxi abandoning a left turn and briefly driving in the wrong lane. Fortunately, no other vehicles were nearby.

Tesla says it plans to expand beyond Austin, with eyes on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. Musk has claimed that hundreds of thousands of fully self-driving Teslas could be operating in the U.S. by the end of 2026.

(TIME)

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