Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin
Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin originally appeared on Autoblog.
Tesla cancelled (or at least shelved) plans for an affordable EV to slot in below the Model 3 in price so that it could focus on launching its autonomous robotaxi service, something company CEO Elon Musk said would happen in June. Indeed, Bloomberg recently reported that Tesla would aim to launch its self-driving taxis on June 12 in Austin, Texas. History has taught us to take Musk's promises (and unconfirmed rumors) about self-imposed timelines with a large grain of salt, but as noted in a video spotted by CarScoops, Tesla may actually be on track for the ambitious launch. Therein, what a new Model Y makes a left turn as pedestrians are about to cross the intersection, and the car stops, allowing us to see that the driver's seat is unoccupied.
The video shared on X (formerly Twitter) is embedded below and shows a dark-colored Model Y that seems to be perfectly in control of self-navigation, while another, white Model Y without a 'Robotaxi' decal is following close behind. The quality, angle, and lighting of the video make it difficult to see inside this second Model Y, but it's safe to assume that a Tesla employee is driving this to monitor anything unusual from the self-driving prototype. In addition, Tesla has confirmed that humans will be remotely supervising all unmanned autonomous vehicles in its robotaxi fleet, thereby adding a failsafe that should keep Tesla from being embroiled in another scandal.
Things seem to be on track on the regulatory side, too. Teslarati reports that Tesla has been approved as an official operator of autonomous vehicles in the state of Texas, which shows on the state's website as of Monday. That said, the site notes that Tesla is still in the testing phase, as are most other autonomous vehicle operators in Austin. Waymo is listed as still in the development phase, though it already launched driverless ride-hailing services in the city in partnership with Uber. Meanwhile, Hyundai-owned Motional is said to be in the mapping phase. Amazon's Zoox is also preparing to launch soon. On X, Musk indicated that the robotaxi launch may not be an invitation-only event, which supports the belief that Tesla is on schedule. We'll see tomorrow if Bloomberg's date was correct. If not, we'll be back soon to explain what happened.
Watch Out For Driverless Tesla EVs On The Streets Of Austin first appeared on Autoblog on Jun 11, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
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