In the face of significantly declining profits during the first quarter of this year, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is preparing to launch its autonomous taxi network in Austin, Texas. CEO Elon Musk announced that the initiative is scheduled to begin on June 22. Musk shared this update on the social media platform X. Additionally, he revealed plans for June 28, his birthday, when Tesla intends to autonomously deliver a vehicle from the factory directly to a customer's home.
"We are being extremely cautious about safety, so the dates might shift slightly. The first Tesla driving itself directly from the production line to a customer's house will happen on June 28," Musk posted. Despite considerable attention surrounding self-driving vehicles, Tesla’s careful approach to rolling out its autonomous taxi service is evident from Musk’s emphasis on proceeding "very cautiously." Musk stated that operations will commence with a limited fleet, likely consisting of ten to twenty vehicles, and then gradually expand.
This week, expectations for the rollout of autonomous taxis intensified as videos circulating on X showed Tesla Model Y vehicles driving autonomously in Austin. Tesla executives, including Musk, shared a video featuring a black Model Y with "Robotaxi" clearly marked on its front doors, making a turn from South Congress Avenue in a busy tourist district without any visible driver inside. Ashok Elluswamy, head of Tesla’s Autopilot team who was recently appointed to lead the Optimus humanoid robot project, also shared the video, drawing significant attention to the progress being made.
These latest visual confirmations follow earlier reports by news outlets, including Bloomberg, which had previously suggested a launch date of June 12 for the autonomous taxi network. For several weeks, Tesla has been extensively testing the Model Y SUVs equipped with autonomous capabilities intended for the initial operational phase. These vehicles, registered with manufacturer plates and typically accompanied by safety drivers, have been observed across various neighborhoods in Austin. The market reacted swiftly to Musk's clear announcement—Tesla's stock rose during early trading on Wednesday, indicating investor enthusiasm for a defined timeline. Musk's direct communication on X late Tuesday evening ended weeks of speculation about the official start of the service.
The autonomous taxi fleet is expected to utilize Tesla’s "unsupervised" Full Self-Driving (FSD) software version. Musk noted that the vehicles in the recent viral videos were running on the newly released software version, hinting at ongoing advancements in their autonomous technology. He further explained that these vehicles are "unaltered Teslas straight from the factory," suggesting that every newly produced Tesla inherently possesses the hardware capability for unsupervised autonomous driving. The Austin Transportation and Public Works website currently lists Tesla as an "autonomous vehicle" (AV) operator in the city, confirming its active participation in this field. However, as of June 11, Tesla’s autonomous operations in Austin remain in the "testing" phase, while Waymo, Google's autonomous division, has officially entered the "deployment" phase.
Tesla's initial deployment of autonomous taxis will begin within a limited, pre-defined geographic area in Austin. Vehicles equipped with FSD software will be closely monitored, with some oversight conducted remotely. Musk mentioned even more advanced technology, noting, "We have a more advanced model in alpha, roughly four times the parameters, but it still needs a lot of polishing. That might be ready for deployment in a few months."
