Tesla launched its first public robotaxi service in the United States on Sunday, offering fully driverless rides in Austin, Texas, to a select group of the biggest influencers on the social media platform X.
The launch marks a major step toward the company’s goal of having “hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Teslas doing self-driving in the US” by the end of next year.
The pilot program allows early riders to book trips in driverless Model Y vehicles using a new standalone mobile application called “Tesla Robotaxi.”
Each vehicle has a safety operator in the passenger seat. However, without a steering wheel or pedals.
The dedicated app replicates familiar ride-hailing features, letting users create an account, set pick-up and drop-off points, monitor vehicle arrival in real time and adjust cabin preferences such as temperature.
“All your media, streaming and preferred temperature settings just work automatically when you get into a Tesla Robotaxi,” Musk wrote on X.
Tesla’s initial fleet includes about 10 Model Ys covering a service area roughly five miles in radius across central Austin.
Each ride costs a flat $4.20, and tipping is not supported; attempts to tip prompt a “Just Kidding” message alongside Tesla’s cartoon hedgehog mascot.
When a robotaxi arrives, its exterior lights pulse to help passengers easily locate the car.
The app provides guidance for interacting safely with the driverless vehicles, including instructions on using the Model Y’s door handles and interpreting its signals.
While waiting, passengers receive recommendations for local destinations like cafes, parks, and shopping centers.
Tesla has also launched a dedicated social media account and webpage for the new service.
“We’re bringing these autonomous rides to you today—starting with Model Y. Cybercab, our fully autonomous vehicle, will begin offering rides in your area in the future,” the site states.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI and the first engineer hired for Autopilot in 2014, shared a photo of the AI operations team monitoring multiple live trips in real time, writing “Robotaxi Launch party 🎉 ❤️.”
According to the picture, Tesla had provided 112 rides as of the time the picture was taken, driving a total of 499 miles.
In the control room, the team has access to a live feed of each Model Y robotaxi, new vehicle requests and to remote controls in case the teleoperator is forced to take over.
On Sunday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reposted a video clip from a recent CNBC interview, saying, “By the end of next year, we’ll have hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Teslas doing self-driving in the US.”
Tesla expects to gradually expand the robotaxi zone beyond its current nine-to-ten-mile coverage as more data is gathered during the pilot phase.
A few hours after having provided the first rides, the app showed a message reading, “High service demand. Please come back later.”
The service will be available through a dedicated Robotaxi app and will run between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. every day of the week.
The app will feature a map of the geofenced area where invitees may request a ride — which will not include airports.
The first Tesla vehicle “that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28,” Musk said last week.
