Tesla's robotaxi plans to 'launch' for a limited number of users in Austin. Here's what we know.
Tesla's robotaxi service launch in Austin is expected Sunday, and some are already being spotted on the road.
The anticipated launch comes years after several missed deadlines and an increasingly competitive — but shrinking — field.
General Motors's Cruise recently bowed out of the race, but Alphabet's Waymo has continuously ramped up its service and is now providing 250,000 rides a week in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, according to the company.
There's also Amazon's Zoox, which makes its own purpose-built robotaxi, and other software-focused companies that hope to provide autonomous driving features to original equipment manufacturer vehicles.
However, Elon Musk swears by Tesla's approach to autonomy.
On June 10, Musk reshared a video of a driverless Tesla with " Robotaxi" written on the side in Cybertruck font, making a left turn in Austin. He called its design "beautifully simple."
"These are unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory, meaning that every Tesla coming out of our factories is capable of unsupervised self-driving," Musk said in another tweet.
During the company's Q1 earnings call in April, Musk described Tesla's self-driving capabilities as a "generalized solution using artificial intelligence."
The CEO has touted this approach before, which refers to Tesla's reliance on cameras, as opposed to a pricey hardware stack made up of sensors and cameras, and an AI that will use the visual input to drive the vehicle. This could allow for Tesla to scale autonomy quicker and at lower costs since, in theory, any Tesla model could be deployed as a robotaxi.
"I predict there will be millions of Teslas operating autonomously — fully autonomously — in the second half of next year," Musk said during the call.
Musk recently provided more details about the coming robotaxi launch. Here's what we now know about Tesla's robotaxi service — and some lingering questions.
What will Tesla's planned robotaxi rollout look like?
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, who recently visited Tesla's Palo Alto office, said that the robotaxi launch will take place on public roads and will be "invite only."
Jonas also wrote that there will be "plenty of tele-ops to ensure safety levels."
Teleoperators refer to remote workers who can take some control of the vehicle if the autonomous driver gets stuck. This strategy differs from Waymo and Zoox, which also have remote human workers to provide suggestions or information about a potential path forward if a driver gets stuck.
BI previously reported that there had been discussion around using remote operators as safety drivers for the debut.
How many robotaxis will be at the launch?
It'll start small.
Musk said in a May 20 interview with CNBC that Tesla will launch with around 10 robotaxis in the first week. The automaker will "then increase it to 20, 30, 40," Musk said.
"It will probably be at 1,000 within a few months," Musk said.
Tesla was careful to call the robotaxi service we'll see in June a "pilot" rollout in the automaker's first quarter earnings call, which hints at the limited scale of the initial launch.
Musk has said he plans to expand the robotaxis to other cities, like San Francisco, following the Austin rollout, although he hasn't given an exact timeline on the expansion.
"We just want to put our toe in the water, make sure everything is OK, then put a few more toes in the water, then put a foot in the water," Musk said during Tesla's fourth quarter earnings call in January. "With safety of the general public and those in the car as our top priority."
By the end of 2026, Musk said there could be over 1 million self-driving Teslas in the country.
"Once we make it work in a few cities, we can basically make it work in all cities in that legal jurisdiction," he said during a first-quarter earnings call.
Which Tesla cars will be used for the robotaxi launch?
The first set of Tesla robotaxis is expected to be Model Ys through a software update, according to Musk. The car spotted in Austin appears to be a refreshed Model Y with a robotaxi logo printed on its side.
"With the software update, it will become autonomous," Musk said in the company's first quarter earnings call. "To be clear, the Model Ys that we're talking about being autonomous in Austin in June are the Model Ys we make currently. There's no change to it."
It's unclear if the first batch of robotaxis will be managed directly by Tesla or if it will consist of privately owned Teslas through which owners will opt in to the service.
The CEO also clarified that the Cybercab is a separate product. In October 2024, Tesla unveiled a purpose-built, two-door robotaxi with no steering wheel.
"We've got a product called the Cybercab," he said during the first-quarter earnings call. "And then if any Tesla — which could be a (model) S, 3, X, or Y that is autonomous — is a robotic taxi or robotaxi. It's very confusing."
What will the business model look like?
Musk has compared the robotaxi business model to "some combination of Airbnb and Uber."
Musk said during the CNBC interview that Tesla has "millions of cars that will be able to operate autonomously," and Tesla owners will have the opportunity to "earn money by adding their car to the fleet for autonomous use."
"It's a combination of a Tesla-owned fleet and also enabling Tesla owners to be able to add or subtract their car to the fleet," Musk said.
Musk added in the interview that Tesla owners could make more in allowing the car to be added to the self-driving fleet than the lease would cost. The Tesla CEO has previously said owners could earn about $30,000 a year from the service.
"Just like Airbnb, you can rent out your spare bedroom or your house if you're not using it, and make money on it," Musk said. "And that's what we expect Tesla customers to be able to do."
Tesla has yet to unveil the commercial version of its FSD Unsupervised software. The software will be used in the robotaxi fleet and doesn't need a driver behind the wheel like its personal vehicles.
How can we order a Tesla robotaxi in June?
Tesla teased its ride-hailing mobile app last year.
A video of the app reveals a user requesting the service by pressing a black-and-white circle with the word "summon."
Within a few seconds, the app shows a map of a car three minutes from the pickup location. The app also allows users to adjust the climate settings before it arrives.
As of Sunday morning, several invited participants said they were still waiting for the app's release.
So, when will we get the Cybercab?
Tesla's Cybercab was unveiled at the "We, Robot" event last October. It's also a robotaxi, but it's a bit further out than the service launch date.
Volume production of Cybercab is still on schedule for 2026, Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, said during the company's first quarter earnings call.
Moravy said that the company is currently at the "B-sample validation" of the vehicle, which means Tesla is building the prototype of the car but using material that will be close to the final product.
"Big builds" or the next stage of vehicle-building before volume production is coming at the end of the second quarter, Moravy said.
Tesla anticipates that it will be able to pump out Cybercabs quickly at scale by using what the company calls its "unboxed" method of manufacturing.
Traditional car manufacturers build cars on an assembly line. Tesla is betting on a new method where different parts of the car are simultaneously assembled and then later combined.
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