Tesla reaches the streets of Austin
Tesla began paid robotaxi rides in Austin: a limited service with a safety rider on board, at a flat 4.20 dollars a ride by Musk's post.
Why it matters
A second approach to the driverless taxi reached paying riders: cameras only, with neural networks trained on data from the company's own fleet, and no lidar.
By Tesla's second-quarter update to shareholders, the service launched in Austin in June "with a safety rider" and was "limited in initial scope"; next came more vehicles, a larger area and, eventually, rides without the rider. The company describes its approach as "a camera-only architecture with neural networks trained on data from our global fleet". The day comes from Musk's post of 22 June: rides begin "this afternoon" at a flat fee of $4.20. Tesla's documents give neither the number of cars, nor the size of the area, nor where the rider sits. In the third quarter the area and fleet grew and the app opened to everyone in the US. Tesla began testing cars with nobody inside in Austin in December, and began removing the rider from customer rides in January 2026, on a limited basis.