Tesla is confident on June launch for Robotaxi after talks with Austin City and Texas DoT

Tesla has shared an update on robotaxi services launch in Austin, Texas, confirming that the progress is in the right direction to launch in the first half of this year.

The company posted a few photographs on X account from an autonomous vehicle exhibit organized by Austin Transportation and Texas Department of Transportation (DOT).

“Exciting day talking about Robotaxi with critical operational stakeholders. Thanks again to officials at Austin Transportation and Texas DOT for organizing these AV Exhibits” wrote Eric, lead robotaxi engineer at Tesla.

Tesla has showcased a couple of its vehicles, including Cybercab and the new Model Y. Announced in August 2024, Cybercab is a two-seater autonomous vehicle with gull-wing doors.

The company has designed this vehicle without a steering wheel and a large front space for passengers. It also has a large space in the rear for luggage.

Cybercab and new Model Y (Source – Tesla)

The car will run the unsupervised Tesla FSD software to guide through the traffic and take the customer to the selected destination.

This will be the primary vehicle of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, which is under production preparations and aiming for a large-scale manufacturing in the first half of 2026.

Meanwhile, Tesla planning to kick-start the robotaxi services with its existing fleet, including Model 3, Model Y and other vehicles. These will be optimized and deployed for autonomous ride-hailing services.

The company is also seeking a license in California and aiming for a launch there by the end of this year. However, launching an unmanned ride-hailing requires a lot of regulatory permission, and Tesla has already started working in this direction.

(source)