Tesla Launches Driverless Taxi Service

Tesla has introduced a driverless taxi service, with test rides currently taking place in Austin.

History has been made. I’ve taken my first driverless Tesla Robotaxi. pic.twitter.com/XLywuCi77g

— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) June 22, 2025

The initial passengers were carefully selected, including investors and influencers who are live-streaming their experiences. Each vehicle is accompanied by a company employee to monitor the situation.

One passenger, Herbert Ong, noted the vehicle’s high speed and autonomous parking capabilities.

EXCLUSIVE: First Tesla Robotaxi Rides Ever! https://t.co/13ldQtIn07

— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) June 22, 2025

A user known as Zack praised the smoothness of the ride.

Our second Robotaxi ride done.

It’s smoother than a human driver. Absolutely amazing work by @Tesla_AI team. Well done. pic.twitter.com/s2j2McOegV

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025

According to videos shared on social media, the experiment proceeded smoothly: driverless Model Y SUVs traversed short distances, navigated intersections, avoided pedestrians, and parked. Nighttime rides were also included.

Here is my experience in one of the first public nighttime @Tesla Robotaxi rides. It was smooth, comfortable and just as good as it is during the daytime. pic.twitter.com/7bDvVaWf3A

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 23, 2025

However, there were some hiccups. In one instance, a streamer pressed the stop button, but the vehicle only briefly slowed down on the road before continuing.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the software and chip design teams for the successful launch, emphasizing that all solutions were developed from scratch.

Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!

Culmination of a decade of hard work.

Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2025

Early passengers are charged a flat fee of $4.2 per ride. The robotaxi service is available from 6 a.m. to midnight within the city limits. The service may be unavailable in adverse weather conditions.

It remains unclear when the driverless cars will be available to the general public. Musk mentioned plans to expand the initiative to other cities in the near future.

In May, trials began in Germany for using driverless cars as public transport.