After a decade of unfulfilled promises, Elon Musk’s Tesla finally began rolling out its driverless Robotaxi service in Austin. However, the first few rides were limited to a select group of social media influencers and content creators who are considered to be close to the company.
Musk announced on X that the initial riders are being charged a flat fee of $4.20 per trip, but the long-term pricing structure remains unclear. Robotaxis are currently only available in a geofenced area of the city from 6 am to midnight. According to the terms of use posted by some of the first riders, the Robotaxi service may be limited or unavailable in bad weather.
The Tesla CEO stated that Robotaxi launch was the ‘culmination of a decade of hard work.’ He also stated that both the AI chip running Robotaxi and the software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.
Soon after Musk’s official announcement, social media was filled with videos of people trying out Robotaxis showing a Model Y SUV running short distance trips with no driver in sight and only one passenger in the rear seats.
Challenges for Tesla:
Ahead of Tesla’s planned rollout date, Texas lawmakers moved to enact an act called autonomous vehicle rules that requires a state permit to run self-driving vehicles, Reuters reported. The law was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday and takes effect from 1 September. The law also gives the state power to revoke permits for operators it deems a public danger.
Tesla hasn’t yet revealed when Robotaxi service will be available to use by the general public but Musk has promised to take the service quickly to other US cities in the near future. In Austin, specifically, Robotaxi faces a crowded market with Google’s Waymo already operational with a partnership with Uber while Amazon’s Zoox is also running tests there.
