On June 22, a Tesla robotaxi was launched in Austin, Texas. However, this is only the company’s first step: the first passengers are accompanied by a human “Tesla safety monitor.” There are also only ten cars available, and rides are limited to certain Tesla users. These early users and influencers share their experiences on social media, mostly (unexpectedly) on the X.
Most early adopters seem to be Tesla advocates, with a mention of the company in their social media bio or a Tesla cap in their profile photo (or both), so consider these initial reactions in that context. That said, an autonomous car ride is… an autonomous car ride. Many live streams show that the safety monitor is held by a handle on the right side of the passenger seat, possibly with emergency control. However, this has not yet been confirmed. Many passengers tried to talk to their security monitors, but without much success.
One user, a bearded Tesla Guy, called the app “almost Uber.” Others found it difficult to hail a Tesla car from a limited pool of rides, watching several self-driving Waymos drive by while they waited. Austin is the place to test autonomous rides: Waymo is expanding its service in partnership with Uber, and Amazon’s Zoox is also testing its technology in the region.
After verifying your identity with a security monitor, you start the ride by clicking the “Start Ride” button. Tesla has linked the service to existing user profiles, allowing you to import existing music playlists, which is a nice touch. You can also customize the temperature, seat position, and much more using the companion app. Unlike a regular Tesla, the Robotaxi has buttons that can be used to ask the car to pull over or stay in its lane. It is also possible to call customer service if you have any problems with the automated ride, although we assume that a human safety monitor is likely to offer faster assistance.
After the launch of the service, Tesla opened a new Robotaxi page with all the instructions and rules for using Robotaxi. The company has also posted detailed answers to frequently asked questions about using the service and a registration form to receive updates. Early access users pay a flat rate of $4.20 for their rides.
The parameters are strict, in addition to a limited number of cars. Trips must be made within a geographically fenced-off area, which excludes airports, and operate between 6 am and midnight. At this point, we know that we should take Musk’s statements with a grain of salt, but the Tesla boss says that the company plans to increase its taxi fleet to a thousand self-driving cars on the road “within a few months.” Tesla also said it will operate a network of robotaxis using an “unsupervised” version of its self-driving software.
