The streets of Austin, Texas, are preparing for a new automated transportation service. Elon Musk has announced that the “expected” start date for Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin is June 22.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after the company’s Model Y vehicles began driverless testing in the same city. In fact, the first Model Y Robotaxi has already been spotted driving around South Congress, sporting a distinctive side sticker with the word “Robotaxi,” whose font is reminiscent of the Cybertruck design.
Tesla intends to start with a fleet of 10 to 20 vehicles in Austin, with the intention of gradually increasing the number of units.
According to Reuters, secrecy has surrounded the project, to the point that both Tesla and the Texas Attorney General’s Office intervened to prevent Austin city officials from doing so.
Remote Monitoring and a Short Testing Period
Safety and operating methods are two of the areas attracting the most attention. During the initial phases, the Robotaxis will be remotely supervised by Tesla personnel, and their operating area will be geographically restricted to areas of Austin considered safer for vehicle navigation.
Recent sightings confirm this protocol: in a video shared by Musk himself, a second manned Tesla vehicle was seen following closely behind the autonomous car, likely with a remote operator ready to intervene if necessary.
In another recording, an unidentified person occupied the passenger seat of the driverless Model Y, their role unclear.
Also, to mitigate potential setbacks, Tesla has collaborated with Austin authorities in recent months to train the city’s emergency response teams on how to handle and interact with the company’s vehicles, which could be completely empty at the time of an incident.
Established Competition
Elon Musk’s company will face direct and established competition from Alphabet-owned Waymo. It will also face competition from Amazon-owned Zoox, which has been testing its own vehicles in the city for some time. In fact, Waymo already offers its autonomous ride-hailing service to paying customers, giving it a head start.