On Sunday, Tesla launched its first autonomous taxi service in Austin, Texas. The service will see the cars pick up paying passengers without a driver. CEO Elon Musk called the move a game-changer for the company.
“This is the culmination of 10 years of hard work,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. He said Tesla’s artificial intelligence chips and software were built entirely in-house, from scratch.
Videos circulating on social media show driverless Teslas driving around Austin’s South Congress neighborhood. The cars have “safety observers” who sit in the front passenger seat. The limited testing phase involves about 10 vehicles.
Tesla had earlier invited a select group of bloggers and influencers to participate in the pilot robotaxi service. It operates in a limited area and under controlled conditions. According to Musk, each ride costs $4.20.
