- Tesla Robotaxis is operational in Texas, Austin
- Most online reactions have been positive so far
- You can only get journeys with special invitations for now
This has been fully expected, but the Tesla Robotaxi service has now launched in a limited form, transporting its first passengers around Austin, Texas, with a fully automated autonomous technology and no human taxi drivers.
The news has been announced on various social networks, including @tesla_ai, and follows years of testing and teasing of Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk. However, it is a very limited launch for the moment: you must be invited to try the service, and it only covers a specific part of Austin, a region which has been carefully mapped by Tesla software.
Although there is no human driver, each Robotaxi is delivered with an employee of Tesla sitting in the passenger seat, ready to close the car if that is in trouble.
The rides are billed at a flat price of $ 4.20 (around £ 3.15 / $ 6.60 in), with any managed via the Tesla application. Musk said the service will extend to other cities and will cross 1,000 vehicles in the coming months. So, even if it’s good to see the service throw, I will test my Knightrider Dreams a little time.
Here is my experience in one of the first public walks @tesla Robotaxi. It was smooth, comfortable and as good as during the day. pic.twitter.com/7bdvvawf3aJune 23, 2025
There is also a whole new Robotaxi page on the Tesla website, giving details on the service. Tesla bets very large on the Robotaxi service as a source of future income, and there have even been clues that Tesla owners can possibly rent their cars as a robotaxis, earning money when they were not used otherwise.
For the moment, however, the service is far behind Waymo, which was launched in San Francisco three years ago, and also operates in Austin, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Waymo Cabs does not have a staff member present in the car, but vehicles are all watched at a distance in the event of problems.
Positive reactions – and certain problems
Most Robotaxi reactions arrive on social networks have been very positive: the service apparently works very well, both during the day and at night, with a fluid passenger experience that would have beaten what Waymo offers.
However, it should be noted that most people who have been invited to use the Robotaxi rides are owners, supporters and Tesla investors. Return via the social media accounts of people who publish positively on their Robotaxi journeys, and you will see that there is a lot of pro-Tesla feeling.
Tesla Robotaxi drops us off in in-n-out, deals with pedestrians and transmission through the line / traffic. Managed it perfectly. 🍔 pic.twitter.com/mgkifm2gsJune 22, 2025
The best technology looks like magic because it is so normal that you don’t even notice it … until you do it. I have taken a look in a Tesla Robotaxi today. In this clip, he withdrew into a narrow street with construction, making room for a car coming in the opposite direction which illegally turns into our path.June 23, 2025
It is not a reason to reject these reactions, but it is an important context. One of the circulating clips shows a robotaxi trying to burst into the wrong track, which it is prevented from doing. A clip published on Reddit shows unnecessary braking problems, although it seems that the Robotaxi railings work.
There are now many extensive videos showing that the rides are carried out in the Robotaxis, without problem or obvious problem. For the moment, the rides can be welcomed between the hours of 6 am and midnight, and the Tesla application takes care of the synchronization of data such as musical reading lists of passenger phones to vehicles.
If you want to read more positivity around the Tesla Robotaxi, head to the flow of Elon Musk on X-you will see sentences such as “Smooth as butter” and even “the beginning of post-clond civilization”. There are a lot of technological and regulatory obstacles to overcome as the Tesla Robotaxi service is developing, but it is now at least operational.
