\n<\/p>\n
Tesla has started giving rides in driverless Model Y SUVs in Austin, a decade after CEO Elon Musk began making \u2014 and breaking \u2014 myriad promises about his company\u2019s ability to launch such a service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rollout will become the first big test of Musk\u2019s belief that it\u2019s possible to safely deploy fully autonomous vehicles using just cameras and end-to-end AI \u2013 an approach that differs from other players in the space like Waymo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Sunday, numerous videos shared on social media as well as sources in the city, confirmed what Musk has been teasing for months: that the rides are finally happening, at a surely coincidental<\/a> flat fee of $4.20 per ride.<\/p>\n Tesla sent early-access invitations<\/a> in the past week to vetted customers, who were able to download and use the new robotaxi app on Sunday to hail rides. It\u2019s unclear how many people have received this invitation. But posts on Musk\u2019s social media platform X show that many of them went to Tesla\u2019s loudest<\/a> online<\/a> supporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n The invitations, along with a new robotaxi information page<\/a> published on Tesla\u2019s website on June 22, confirm the service will operate every day from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m but \u201cmay be limited or unavailable in the event of inclement weather.\u201d And, notably, a Tesla employee will be sitting in the right front passenger seat as a \u201csafety monitor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The robotaxi information page also includes instructions on downloading the app, how to report a lost item, and general rules for riders. It still glosses over the kind of specifics that Waymo \u2014 the Alphabet-owned AV company that operates commercial robotaxis in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin \u2014 has historically provided.\u00a0<\/p>\n The robotaxi service will be small to start, according to Musk<\/a>. The initial fleet will be about 10 or so 2025 Model Y SUVs operating in a narrowly defined area of South Austin. That\u2019s in line with a first-hand account by Ed Niedermeyer, author of \u201cLudicrous, The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors,\u201d who is in Austin to monitor the robotaxi rollout. (Niedermeyer is a co-host of The Autonocast with TechCrunch editor Kirsten Korosec.)<\/p>\n Neidermeyer found what appears to be a Tesla robotaxi depot \u2014 a nondescript parking lot dotted with trees near Oltorf Street in South Austin. The day before the launch, he spotted several driverless Model Ys \u2014 always with an employee behind the steering wheel \u2014 entering and exiting the parking lot. Groups of other Tesla Model Y vehicles, most with manufacturer plates, were also parked there.\u00a0<\/p>\n This morning, he spotted the branded Tesla Model Y robotaxis, this time with the employee in the front passenger seat, leaving the holding area. He observed one of the branded robotaxis, which had not yet picked up a rider, suddenly hitting its brakes two separate times \u2014 once in the middle of an intersection. It\u2019s unclear why the vehicle behaved that way. However, in a video, which TechCrunch has viewed and has since been posted on YouTube<\/a>, both instances occurred as the Tesla passed by police vehicles that were located in parking lots adjacent to the roadway.<\/p>\n Leading up to the launch, Musk shared dribs and drabs about the Tesla robotaxi launch in a few interviews and posts on X. Even now, nearly all of the information about the robotaxi launch has been provided by the company\u2019s biggest supporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, Tesla has actively tried to suppress information about the robotaxi service. Tesla tried to block TechCrunch\u2019s public records request with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The company has also tried to block the city of Austin from fulfilling a records request by Reuters, according to the news service<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTesla seeks to be as transparent as possible, however, as explained further below, some of the requested information cannot be released because it is confidential information, trade secrets, and\/or business information exchanged with the TxDOT in conjunction with conducting business with TxDOT,\u201d Taylor White, senior counsel on infrastructure for Tesla, wrote in a letter to the Texas Attorney General\u2019s office in April.<\/p>\n One of the more interesting rollout strategies is the company\u2019s use of a human \u201csafety monitor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what role these safety monitors will play and how much, if any control, they will have. These employees are likely not meant to try and intervene if the software is about to do something wrong. But they may have access to some sort of kill switch that can stop the car if that does happen.<\/p>\n Historically, autonomous vehicle companies like Waymo and former Cruise tested their respective self-driving technology by having a human safety operator behind the wheel and a second engineer in the front passenger seat. Eventually, that might be reduced to one person sitting in the passenger seat before removing them altogether. This practice was traditionally done during the testing phase \u2014 not commercial operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla is not using the futuristic vehicles, dubbed Cybercabs, that were revealed<\/a> on October 10, 2024. Instead, the 2025 Tesla Model Y vehicles are equipped with what Musk describes as a new, \u201cunsupervised\u201d version of Tesla\u2019s Full Self-Driving software.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla will not be using<\/a> its in-cabin camera during rides by default. The company says it will only be used if a rider requests support or in the case of an emergency. It will use the camera after a ride ends to \u201cconfirm Robotaxi\u2019s readiness for its next trip.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla is encouraging early access riders to take photos and video of their experiences, although it says it \u201cmay suspend or terminate Robotaxi access\u201d if riders violate its rules, including if they \u201cdisseminate content on a social media platform or similar medium depicting a violation of these Rules or misuse of the Robotaxi.\u201d (That includes riders agreeing not to smoke, vape, drink alcohol, do drugs, or use the robotaxi in connection with a crime.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk and other Tesla executives praised the milestone on X, with Ashok Elluswamy, the head of the company\u2019s self-driving team, posting a photo of the \u201cRobotaxi launch party\u201d from an undisclosed location<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSuper congratulations to the @Tesla_AI\u00a0 software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!! Culmination of a decade of hard work,\u201d Musk wrote.<\/p>\n But at least one rider on Sunday reported having an experience where Tesla\u2019s remote support team had to help in some way<\/a>. It\u2019s not immediately clear what happened during that ride, but that same rider later said the ride was very smooth<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nInformation gaps<\/strong><\/h2>\n