At the start, Tesla employees will get invited rides; consumer access will follow soon after. On June 28, Tesla vehicles will also drive themselves from the factory to customers’ homes without a driver.
Tentatively, June 22.
We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift.
First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025
Moreover, Tesla has been testing its self-driving cars on Austin streets. On June 10, a black Model Y marked “Robotaxi” was filmed navigating an intersection without anyone in the driver’s seat, trailed by a chase vehicle.
BREAKING: First ever Tesla Model Y robotaxi with no-one in the drivers seat spotted testing on public roads in Austin, Texas!
Tesla’s new “Robotaxi” wordmark/logo is on the side of the vehicle. https://t.co/IhEzPx5PIb pic.twitter.com/zq4ZmiMqDg— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 10, 2025
Musk confirmed this was a standard factory Model Y running the latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, requiring only cameras and a software update to switch between personal use and robotaxi mode.
These are unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory, meaning that every Tesla coming out of our factories is capable of unsupervised self-driving! https://t.co/n94ln0Uas6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2025
Musk aims for over 1,000 robotaxis within months and more than 1 million by the end of 2026. Tesla shifted its focus from a lower-cost EV platform to self-driving vehicles.
Commercialising self-driving cars has faced safety concerns, strict regulations and high costs. Success in Austin is crucial because Tesla’s EV sales have slowed amid growing competition and controversy over Musk’s political views.
The initial robotaxi fleet will be limited to a pre-defined area and will operate under close remote monitoring. Musk joked, “Austin >> LA for robotaxi launch lol,” referring to Los Angeles. Tesla’s camera-only approach and FSD software will guide the cars.
Industry studies show that Autonomous Vehicles could cut traffic accidents and congestion and shift people toward on-demand mobility. Human error causes 94% of vehicle accidents (US NHTSA).
A 2023 study of Waymo’s driverless miles found 0.6 injury crashes per million miles versus 2.8 for humans—an 80% reduction. Tesla says its full self-driving is already ten times safer than human drivers, though it still requires human oversight under current Level 2 autonomy.
The World Bank estimates that by 2030, 15% of vehicles could be fully autonomous and 50% will have advanced driver-assistance systems. It projects AVs could cut traffic accidents by nearly 90% and help meet climate targets.
Still, regulatory approval is a major hurdle. Waymo reports 0.6 incidents per million miles versus 2.8 for humans, and 2.1 police-reported crashes per million miles versus 4.68 for humans in the same cities. S&P Global says mass adoption of Level 4/5 autonomy is still years away. Toyota has faced criticism for overstating its full self-driving readiness.
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