There comes a time in the life of every autonomous vehicle company when it’s time to answer a very specific question: Can your vehicle transfer passengers safely with only software behind the wheel? (Also, “the wheel” may be metaphorical.) For Tesla and its much-discussed Robotaxi, that moment is set to take place this weekend.
Writing at Teslarati, Maria Merano has more details about the launch, including the fact that, as Merano phrased it, invitations went to “longtime Tesla owners and active members of the EV community.” The test is slated to take place in Austin, Texas, albeit in a geofenced region within the city. Invited participants will be able to hail a ride using the Robotaxi app.
As both Merano and Electrek’s Fred Lambert report, the Tesla vehicles are designed to operate without a driver, but there will be a Tesla employee on board to make sure everything goes according to plan. All of which sounds like par for the course as far as autonomous vehicle testing is concerned.
Tesla’s own social media played it relatively coy about the tests. On June 18, the company’s X account posted a cryptic message: “Guys … What if the taxis were … robots.”
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The EV manufacturer’s deliveries were up in the first quarter of 2025It’s worth stating that Tesla’s plans haven’t been without some resistance. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that a group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas called for Tesla to delay its tests until September, when a new law regulating autonomous vehicles could go into effect. As The Verge reported, some local officials have also raised safety concerns over the state’s approach to this kind of regulation.
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