Texas autonomous vehicle data reveals Tesla robotaxi testing with unsupervised FSD

Tesla is preparing to launch robotaxi services somewhere this month, and the Texas Automated Vehicle Deployment portal has revealed a few more details.

According to the database, the company is listed in Texas under passenger ride-share service and is currently testing its robotaxi in Austin. It’s also confirmed that the robotaxi vehicle has no safety driver, which means the vehicle is operating with unsupervised full self driving (FSD) technology.

The EV maker announced its plans to launch a robotaxi product by mid-2024 and chose two locations for initial rollout – Texas and California. While the autonomous vehicle rules of the second state make it harder for the company to enter this field, Texas seems more adaptive to Tesla’s quest to conquer the robotaxi.

It will use the existing fleet of Model 3 and Model Y as robotaxis for people in Austin. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, said his company will be operating around 10-20 robotaxis in the first round. However, a future expansion will be based safety performance of these vehicles in public.

A week ago, Musk confirmed that Tesla robotaxis are under testing in Austin for a month, and these are unmodified vehicles coming directly from the production line. Usually, robotaxis are covered with sensors and lidars to improve public safety; however, Tesla will only rely on a camera system.

Based on previous details, passengers will be able to book a ride with the Tesla app and mark a pickup and destination point before beginning their journey.

The vehicle will drive autonomously from point to point, and allow users to interact through the display for ride, climate controls, and entertainment. The display will also keep them updated with the destination ETA.

The closest rollout of the Tesla robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, could be June 22, but a delay is highly possible due to vehicle technologies verification to ensure public safety before launch.

(source)