Tesla launches robo-taxi rides in Austin without a human safety driver

Tesla is offering riders robo-taxi rides in Austin without a human safety driver in the front seat.

CEO Elon Musk posted Thursday on X, his social media platform: “Just started driving a Tesla Robotaxi in Austin without a safety monitor in the car. Congratulations to the Tesla AI team!”

He then made a hiring offer for engineers interested in “solving a real-world AI problem,” which he says would “likely lead to artificial general intelligence,” to join Tesla’s AI team.

The automaker launched a robotaxi in the Texas city last June in a limited rollout with a safety factor in the front passenger seat. Tesla initially offered those first rides to influencers and carefully selected customers. In December, Tesla began testing its robotaxi in Austin without a safety driver in the front seat, a precaution in case the vehicle needed a human to take over.

Not all of Austin’s Tesla fleet will be completely driverless. According to Ashok Elswami, Tesla’s AI lead, the company “will start with a small number of unattended vehicles mixed with the broader robotaxi fleet equipped with safety monitors, and the proportion will increase over time.”

Tesla is charging fees for rides, according to one passenger who posted on X. There also appears to be a chase car following self-driving vehicles.

Some Tesla competitors, such as Zoox and Waymo, did not immediately charge for driverless rides upon initial rollout.

TechCrunch attempted to reach out to Tesla for clarification.

The article has been updated to reflect new information, including that Tesla is charging fees for trips.