The cars will be Model Y vehicles running a new version of Tesla’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) Unsupervised software.
AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed the company’s plans to launch a robotaxi trial in Austin by the end of June.
In an interview with CNBC, Musk said the Austin robotaxi service will start with around 10 vehicles before expanding to “thousands” of vehicles, should the launch go smoothly.
“It’s prudent for us to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well and then scale it up,” Musk told CNBC.
Musk said Tesla will bring its robotaxis to Los Angeles and San Francisco after the Austin debut.
The cars will be Model Y vehicles running a new version of Tesla’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) Unsupervised software. The cars will only operate within a defined map in Austin, and Tesla employees will remotely monitor the fleet.
“We’ll be watching what the cars are doing very carefully and as confidence grows, less of that will be needed,” Musk said.
In 2023, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company’s permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. The following year, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.
Self-driving rideshare vehicles are already on the roads in Austin, including Google’s Waymo, which is partnered with Uber and open to riders using that app.
Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis this year. Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon’s Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai’s Motional is in the mapping phase.