
Tesla robotaxis finally hit the road – but you can't ride one yet
- by New Atlas
- Jun 23, 2025
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Credit where it's due: Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised his company would launch a robotaxi service this June, and it actually rolled out self-driving cabs in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. Too bad you'll probably have a hard time hailing one at the moment.
The service is currently invite-only, and the fleet is believed to feature just a handful of cars at the moment. The Verge notes that it's likely about 10-20 vehicles, and a number of early invites have been sent out to Tesla-favoring influencers. That tracks with Financial Times' recent report about the automaker's plan to initially keep the rollout small, and restrict access to only "company employees or invited guests."
The cars are not the Cybercab designed for the ride-hailing service and revealed last October; instead, you'll get a Robotaxi-branded Model Y sedan.
Tesla's robotaxis in Austin are currently invite-only
Tesla
Oh, and there's a human operator on board in the front passenger seat, instructed to remain silent through the trip and be prepared to hit a kill switch in case of any untoward incidents in traffic. From the social media posts and YouTube videos from early riders, it appears that you can't seat passengers up front at present, so only two to three people can ride together.
At launch, Tesla Robotaxis have a safety operator in the front passenger seat
Tesla
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