According to a report by CNBC, Tesla has begun operating a small number of its robotaxi vehicles in Austin, Texas, without a human driver or safety supervisor on board, marking a significant step in the company’s push toward fully autonomous ride-hailing. Elon Musk confirmed the move in a post on X, saying Tesla had started robotaxi drives with no safety monitor in the car and congratulating the company’s AI team on the milestone.
Tesla’s vice president of software, Ashok Elluswamy, later clarified that only a limited portion of the Austin fleet is currently operating without supervision, while most robotaxis still include safety monitors. He said the proportion of fully driverless vehicles is expected to increase gradually as the service expands. Following the announcement, Tesla shares rose more than four percent, reflecting renewed investor optimism around the company’s autonomy strategy.
Despite this progress, Tesla remains behind several competitors that already run commercial robotaxi services without onboard supervisors. Alphabet’s Waymo leads the US market, while Baidu’s Apollo Go operates large-scale driverless services in China, alongside rivals such as WeRide. Amazon-owned Zoox and startups like May Mobility and Nuro are also testing or deploying driverless vehicles in limited areas.
Tesla’s regulatory position varies by state. In Texas, the company holds a permit that allows it to operate transportation services using automated driving systems. In California, however, Tesla has not yet secured approval to run driverless testing or passenger services without a human ready to intervene.
Musk has repeatedly claimed that self-driving technology is close to being solved, telling audiences at the World Economic Forum in Davos that autonomous cars are essentially a completed problem and predicting widespread robotaxi adoption in the US by the end of the year. Similar predictions in the past have not materialized on schedule, including earlier promises that Tesla vehicles could become robotaxis through software updates alone.
With electric vehicle sales slowing, Tesla’s long-term valuation increasingly depends on whether it can successfully scale unsupervised autonomy and convince regulators and consumers of its safety. Surveys suggest many US consumers remain hesitant about riding in robotaxis, and federal regulators continue to investigate Tesla’s driver-assistance systems following crashes involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features. Tesla is expected to address these issues further when it reports its quarterly earnings.
