Tesla has officially begun providing autonomous rides in driverless Model Y SUVs throughout Austin, marking the company’s first major real-world attempt to deliver on CEO Elon Musk’s long-held promises. A decade after first forecasting an autonomous ride-sharing network, Musk has taken a significant step towards proving Tesla’s vision: deploying fully self-driving vehicles powered only by cameras and advanced artificial intelligence software, bypassing the more common approach of combining sensors like lidar and radar, which companies like Waymo have relied upon.
The newly introduced service opened initially to a limited number of carefully selected users—primarily those known to be dedicated and vocal Tesla supporters. Riders received invitations granting access to a specialized Tesla robotaxi app, allowing them to request rides for a somewhat whimsical fee of exactly $4.20 per trip.
As this initial rollout begins, the company disclosed operational details on a newly published informational webpage. Service hours currently run daily between 6 a.m. and midnight, although Tesla cautioned that availability could become limited or suspended due to adverse weather conditions. Additionally, all rides include a human safety monitor positioned in the front passenger seat—an uncommon practice during commercial deployments, but one that highlights Tesla’s cautious approach amidst growing regulatory scrutiny and public concern over safety.
The robotaxi fleet starts small, comprising roughly ten 2025 Model Y vehicles operating within a narrowly defined area in South Austin. A local staging lot, discovered by observers, has confirmed the presence of numerous self-driving Tesla vehicles, operated under careful oversight. A firsthand witness reported seeing at least one autonomous vehicle behaving oddly, braking suddenly on two separate occasions near intersections, possibly influenced by nearby police vehicles—highlighting some immediate challenges Tesla’s system may face within urban environments.
Despite ushering in a landmark moment for the company, Tesla remains unusually guarded about the service details. It has actively sought to suppress public disclosure by pushing back against requests for records from news organizations. Tesla representatives justified these actions by citing confidentiality and trade protection concerns.
Notably, Tesla opted against deploying the previously showcased, futuristic “Cybercab” vehicles for this introductory phase. Instead, these rides employ the newest “unsupervised” version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software integrated into standard-production Model Ys. Tesla explained that in-cabin video monitoring would ordinarily remain inactive, activated only upon rider request or during emergencies. Post-ride, image data collected by internal cameras would help validate vehicle readiness for subsequent passengers.
Early riders are encouraged to share experiences online, though Tesla warns it retains the right to restrict access if posts suggest misuse or any violation of stated riding guidelines. These guidelines expressly forbid behaviors like smoking, drug or alcohol use, and any illegal activities.
Despite the enthusiasm around the launch—celebrated internally as a decade-long effort achieving fruition—at least one rider already required assistance from Tesla’s support team during their very first journey, further underscoring potential reliability issues inherent in deploying such a complex system commercially.
Tesla’s autonomous ride network in Austin, while modest in scope at present, signifies an important milestone in the ongoing contest to bring fully driverless transportation to mass-market maturity. As the fleet scales and rider experiences accumulate, Tesla’s unconventional BET on camera-based AI autonomy technology faces intense scrutiny that will either validate Musk’s bold assertions or further highlight the complexity and continuing challenges of safely removing humans from behind the wheel.
