Musk Says Tesla Robotaxi Rides Could Begin June 22 In Austin, Texas

Authored by Austin Alonzo via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi service could begin offering rides as soon as June 22, CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday.

In a June 10 post on X, Musk said the self-driving vehicle and ride-sharing service will launch in Austin, Texas. The exact date, however, is tentative.

“We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift,” he said.

In May, Musk said in an interview with CNBC that he expected the first fleet of operational robotaxis to be remotely monitored and geofenced to operate within the safest parts of Austin. However, he said at the time, the company plans on rapidly increasing the number of taxis and expanding the service to other cities, including Los Angeles, San Antonio, Texas, and San Francisco.

Investors were largely unmoved by the news. As of about 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, shares of Tesla Inc. traded for about $324, which was a slight decline from the Tuesday closing price of about $326 a share.

Since peaking at about $491 a share in mid-December, Tesla stock has sagged to its current price as Musk briefly became a central player in the Trump administration. Currently, the price is well above the around $251 a share it traded at on Nov. 5.

Tesla is not the first company to enter the self-driving vehicle space. Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Waymo is already offering rides in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The service is also currently testing in Atlanta and Miami. Amazon.com Inc.-backed Zoox and Toyota Motor Corp.-backed May Mobility are also ramping up autonomous vehicle offerings as artificial intelligence makes rapid advances in 2025.

The Epoch Times previously reported that leading technology companies are likely rushing into the self-driving space as they see practical, fully autonomous vehicles as one of the most valuable prizes yet to be won in the current AI revolution. Critics, however, point out that not all of the so-called self-driving vehicles on the road are truly autonomous, as they do not meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s definition of fully autonomous.

In May, Musk said Tesla’s robotaxis will only operate in a certain location, and they will be remotely monitored. To be considered fully autonomous, a vehicle must be able to operate anywhere under any condition without any human oversight or intervention.

Furthermore, researchers are doubtful that vehicles operated principally by Waymo on California roads are able to operate as safely as a human driver.

Federal safety regulators have asked Tesla how its driverless taxis will operate safely in conditions such as fog, rain, and sun glare, which have been linked to accidents involving the company’s driver-assistance software. Still, there are no national regulations for fully autonomous vehicles without steering wheels or pedals, limiting regulatory oversight.

Also in May, Musk told CNBC he expects there could be more than a million Teslas on the road in the United States with full self-driving capability by the end of next year.

“Passengers won’t need to pay attention to the road. Like you’re asleep and you wake up at your destination,” Musk told CNBC.