Tesla launches robotaxi rides in Austin with no human safety driver

Tesla has launched robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, that operate without a human safety driver in the front seat, marking a significant milestone in autonomous vehicle deployment. The announcement was made via Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s social media post, congratulating the Tesla AI team and simultaneously recruiting engineers to work on advancing real-world AI toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). Previously, Tesla had offered robotaxi rides with a safety operator present and initially limited these rides to influencers and select customers. Currently, only a portion of Tesla’s Austin robotaxi fleet operates fully driverless, with unsupervised vehicles mixed among those still monitored by safety drivers. Tesla plans to gradually increase the ratio of fully autonomous vehicles over time. It remains unclear whether Tesla is charging passengers for these driverless rides, as the company has not provided details on pricing. This cautious rollout contrasts with some competitors like Zoox and Waymo, which initially offered free driverless rides during their early deployments. Tesla has not responded to requests for further clarification.