Tesla has begun testing driverless robotaxis without human occupants in Austin, Texas, nearly six months after launching a limited service that still relied on safety drivers, Chief Executive Elon Musk said.
“Testing is underway with no occupants in the car,” Musk wrote in a post on X over the weekend.
Tesla has not said when it plans to operate a fully driverless commercial ride-hailing service. The company launched a Robotaxi-branded service in Austin in June and later introduced a similar offering in the San Francisco Bay Area, both with human supervision.
Regulatory hurdles remain. Under current Texas rules, autonomous vehicles are allowed on public roads if they comply with traffic laws, but new requirements taking effect in 2026 will require state authorisation for commercial use.
Tesla trails rivals such as Alphabet’s Waymo in the United States and Baidu’s Apollo Go and WeRide in Asia, which are already running commercial robotaxi services.