Tesla rolls out unsupervised robotaxis in Austin

Tesla said on Wednesday it was rolling out its unsupervised robotaxis ‌in the Austin Metro area in Texas, ‌as the electric-vehicle maker looks to speed up its autonomous ​ride-hailing operation.

Expanding the robotaxi service and wider adoption of its full self-driving software – a version of which underpins the technology – is key to Tesla’s growth ‌strategy after CEO ⁠Elon Musk pivoted the company’s focus from EVs to AI and robotics.

“Unsupervised Robotaxi ⁠now in the entire Austin Metro area,” Tesla’s official robotaxi account said in a post on ​X.

The service ​has been operating ​in Austin for nearly ‌a year, where customers sometimes experience wait times in excess of 30 minutes.

According to a presentation by Austin officials, Tesla has roughly 50 vehicles operating in the city, while Alphabet’s Waymo runs ‌more than 250 in the ​same area.

Musk said last month ​he expects fully ​self-driving cars without human safety monitors ‌to become more widespread ​in the United ​States later this year, after already being introduced in Texas.

The EV-maker said in April ​that it was ‌rolling out its robotaxis in Dallas and ​Houston.