Tesla Robotaxis Go Fully Driverless in Austin

Tesla's Robotaxi fleet in Austin appears to be operating without human safety monitors, marking a significant shift. This development, initially announced by Elon Musk with a target of full fleet removal of safety drivers by the end of 2025, is now reportedly a reality in Austin, many months after the initial announcement.

Data from the crowdsourced app Robotaxi Tracker indicates that all 170 monitored Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin over the past two weeks were unsupervised, involving 54 distinct vehicles. This trend of increased unsupervised rides is also being observed in other Texas cities like Dallas and Houston, a notable change from earlier in the summer when the unsupervised fleet seemed to be shrinking.

This advancement occurs just as Tesla is reportedly preparing for the launch of its Cybercab, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle that lacks pedals and a steering wheel. The company has informed employees of a potential release this month, with an initial rollout targeted for Austin.

While this milestone is important for Tesla, it is a smaller operation compared to industry leader Waymo, which already operates over 300 driverless vehicles in Austin and thousands more across other cities.