US EditionTesla starts robotaxi rides without safety monitors in Austin
- Tesla began offering Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas without a human safety driver on January 22, 2026, and CEO Elon Musk announced the unsupervised drives on X with a video showing no front-seat monitor.
- By mixing a few unsupervised vehicles into the fleet, Tesla aims to gather data while increasing the ratio over time, Tesla VP of Self-Driving Ashok Elluswamy said.
- Tesla initially offered first rides to influencers and hand‑picked customers after launch last June, mixing a few unsupervised vehicles into a 30-some car fleet with fewer than 10 active Robotaxis.
- Tesla's Robotaxi fleet has been involved in at least 8 crashes since June, with NHTSA redacting incident narratives, and a crash rate of about once every 60,000 miles based on Tesla's disclosure of 250,000 miles.
- Compared with rivals such as Waymo, which has over 125 million fully driverless miles and crashes roughly once every 98,600 miles, critics say Tesla's Austin rollout appears aimed at manufacturing a win after missed deadlines.
27 Articles
27 Articles
Elon Musk announced on Thursday, January 22, that Tesla's robotaxis pilot service in Austin began operating without the assistance of human beings on board the vehicle, which led to an increase in the company's shares.In a message on social network X, Musk indicated the start of Tesla's robotaxis trips without human monitors, but without explaining whether the measure was being applied to all vehicles in the fleet operating in some areas of Aust…
Tesla launches robotaxi rides without a human chaperone in Austin
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty ImagesTesla says some of its cars are now driving passengers without a human monitor in the front seat.CEO Elon Musk has been pushing to launch more self-driving cars in other US cities.Competitors launched similar products in the city 10 months ago.Tesla's cars passed their driver's exam.On Thursday, a Tesla executive said a handful of driverless robotaxis were hitting Austin streets without any hu…
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