Tesla: Driverless Model Ys Are Now Testing in Austin for Its Robotaxi Service Coming to the City

The robotaxi plans for Tesla are rapidly accelerating as the company is now making more of their presence known in their service areas, particularly in Austin where several driverless Model Ys are already gracing the streets.

The latest venture from Tesla doubles down on the robotaxi testing that the company introduced last year via the We, Robot event, focusing on self-driving cars and its technology.

Elon Musk's robotaxi service is now expanding on its testing in different cities, and it will soon compete with the likes of Alphabet's Waymo, Amazon Zoox, and other autonomous ride-hailing services in the market.

Tesla: Driverless Model Ys Now Testing in Austin

According to a new post by Elon Musk on X, driverless Model Y cars of the company are now testing independently in Austin, Texas, the second city where it plans to launch a robotaxi service. Musk revealed that the driverless Model Ys have been strolling around the city in the past few days, and so far, there have been no reported incidents involving its EVs and technology.

Musk also revealed that Tesla went ahead to test the driverless technology in Austin a month ahead of its planned schedule, with the company ramping up its testing for future robotaxi operations.

That being said, Musk did not reveal if this driverless Model Y operations in Austin featured a safety driver inside, one that would not drive the car per se but intervene when there is an accident about to happen.

Tesla Robotaxi is Coming Soon to Austin

According to Tesla's post, this is for the robotaxi operations that the company plans to soon launch over in Austin, and it has already gone ahead of schedule to enact its tests in real scenarios.

It remains unknown what Tesla's progress is in its robotaxi operations in Austin and other places where it has already launched, but Musk revealed that next month, self-delivery from factory to customer is coming.

Tesla and Its Robotaxi Plans

After the massive announcements shared by Tesla during last year's We, Robot event, the company confirmed that it will bring a robotaxi service for the public, which it plans to launch shortly. Musk revealed that 2025 is the target date to launch Tesla's autonomous ride-hailing services, but it would first undergo testing that would help it map out areas and improve its technology.

Earlier this year, Tesla stayed true to its word about starting its robotaxi business, particularly as the company applied for a ride-hail permit in California that will focus greatly on San Francisco. After securing their permit, the company started testing its self-driving robotaxis that is currently exclusive for employees, with its early operations in San Francisco still having a safety driver.

Tesla has since expanded their robotaxi operation testing in San Francisco that are exclusive for employees for the time being, with the company also having operations in Austin that use the FSD Supervised technology.

That being said, Tesla is now all-in with its robotaxi operations in either city, with its massive expansion in Austin marking the beginning of driverless services in its second city.