Model Y cars are pictured during the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.
Patrick Pleul | Pool | Via Reuters
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that his company’s robotaxi service is “tentatively” set to launch in Austin, Texas, on June 22.
In a post on X, Musk indicated that he’s flying from Los Angeles to Austin for the kickoff, which he’d previously said would be sometime in June. When a commenter asked when public rides will start, Musk said the current plan is for June 22, and that the first ride from the factory to a customer’s house will take place on June 28.
“We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift,” Musk wrote.
Earlier on Tuesday, Musk shared a video on X showing that Tesla was testing driverless vehicles on the roads of Austin without a human safety supervisor behind the wheel. The eight-second clip showed the latest version of the Model Y SUV, painted black with a white “Robotaxi” graffiti-style logo painted on it, navigating an intersection and pausing to allow pedestrians to traverse a crosswalk.
Musk recently told CNBC’s David Faber that Tesla will start with a very small rollout, including about 10 to 20 of its robotaxis, with a new, “unsupervised” version of the company’s FSD or “Full Self-Driving” technology installed. The tests will involve the Model Y, not the futuristic looking CyberCab that Tesla plans to produce next year.
Musk said Tesla will “geofence” the service, limiting where the robotaxis can initially operate, and that employees will remotely monitor the fleet.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
