Mucahithan Avcioglu
23 June 2025•Update: 23 June 2025
ISTANBUL
The US electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla launched "robotaxi" rides in the US state of Texas on Sunday, marking the beginning of a large-scale driverless taxi service, according to social media posts by Tesla chief Elon Musk.
A limited number of invited experts, influencers, and stockholders were shown taking paid rides in videos that Tesla posted on X.
Videos showed that a human safety operator was in the passenger seat of the few cars that were deployed.
The driverless taxi debut demonstrates Tesla's attempt to take on the US and Chinese self-driving taxi companies as the market expands, according to CNN.
In a social media post, Musk described the launch as the "culmination of a decade of hard work" and praised Tesla's chip design and AI teams.
"Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla," he said.
Customers will pay "a $4.20 flat fee" for rides in Tesla robotaxis, he noted in a post ahead of Sunday's pilot.
The Cybercab, the futuristic automobile idea that Musk introduced at Tesla's "We, Robot" event in October, is not yet part of the small fleet of robotaxis.
Musk claimed that the Cybercab will be the company's autonomous taxi in the future.
On Sunday, current Tesla cars bearing the little "robotaxi" emblem on the side were the ones that took to the streets of Austin, Texas.
