Austin, Texas, June 24: Tesla Inc on Sunday quietly launched its long-awaited driverless taxi service in a limited area of Austin, Texas, marking a cautious entry into a sector CEO Elon Musk has championed as central to the company’s future.
The initial rollout features 10 to 20 autonomous vehicles, operating between 6 a.m. and midnight in a geofenced zone that excludes the city’s airport. Each car is monitored by a Tesla employee on board, and the first passengers were hand-picked influencers and investors. Early rides were charged a flat rate of $4.20, though Tesla has not confirmed long-term pricing.
The launch, notably subdued for a company known for high-profile events, comes nearly a decade after Musk began promoting the concept of fully autonomous ride services. Tesla has opted for word-of-mouth promotion and social media buzz over formal announcements.
Videos posted by early riders praised the service for its smooth navigation and autonomous parking. Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor, called the ride “awesome,” while others described it as “smoother than a human driver.”
The move is a key test for Tesla’s push into self-driving technology, which remains unproven and under regulatory scrutiny. The company hopes to scale the service rapidly and expand to other U.S. cities, though no timeline has been provided for a wider public rollout.
Tesla faces stiff competition in Austin, where Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, and Amazon-owned Zoox are already testing autonomous vehicles. Musk’s launch comes as rivals like Cruise, the defunct General Motors unit, and Uber Technologies, have previously halted operations following safety incidents.
Industry analysts say the debut could help revive investor confidence amid a 20% drop in Tesla shares this year and sluggish EV sales. Dan Ives, a Tesla bull at Wedbush Securities, said the robotaxi user experience was “better than expected” and could challenge Waymo’s position in the sector.
Musk has bet heavily on technologies including autonomous driving and humanoid robots to power Tesla’s next growth phase. However, the low-profile launch suggests a cautious approach to what could be one of the company’s most ambitious undertakings yet.
