Finally we have visual confirmation of Tesla operating it’s FSD (unsupervised) software on the public streets of Austin, Texas.
On May 29th, Elon Musk shared that Tesla had had a number of Model Ys had been driving themselves around Austin’s public streets, ahead of the scheduled June launch. The cars had been driving for a number of days without issue, with nobody in the driver’s seat.
Today, I’m happy to share a video that shows a Tesla Model Y operating autonomously on FSD (unsupervised), with no driver behind the wheel. We understand there are likely employees following the vehicle in the trailing Model Y, a temporary safety practice we’ve seen by other implementations.
The Model Y features a subtle ‘Robotaxi’ logo on the side of the car, answering the question, if we’d have any externally indicators these Model Ys are a little special.
Tesla is completing testing of their latest software build, ahead of offering limited passenger rides this month. The vision-only technology is being rolled out responsibly, starting small, monitoring for any issues before expanding the geographic availability.
The video was shared by X account @TerrapinTerpene, who despite having created their account back in 2014, has no other posts or replies.
Once Tesla gains confidence the system is operating without issue, the plan is to expand and grow the service availability to other parts of the US, the internationally.
Without the cost of a driver, Tesla are poised to offer one of the lowest costs for transport, however that’s likely going to take scale before these economics can be achieved. Initially demand will be high, matched by the interest in Tesla’s driverless offering. Don’t be surprised to see initial pricing similar to other rideshare services.
The Model Ys in use for this launch are just the beginning, with Tesla’s dedicated hardware, the Cybercab scheduled to arrive early 2026. Once the Cybercab begins to leave the factory, it’ll offer the first vehicle without a steering wheel and pedals from the company, with the 2-seater costs expected to be easily the cheapest Tesla to produce.
Reports suggest Tesla will launch the Robotaxi on June 12th, however Tesla are yet to officially confirm this. We know the service will initially be geofenced to a restricted area of Austin. Given Musk shared that the first autonomous home delivery will occur before the end of June, the Gigafactory Texas is likely included in this zone.
Given no other vehicle capable of full autonomy is sold to consumers, this will be the first time a customer car has driven itself from the factory to the customer’s home, an impressive feat if it can be achieved.
