Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a tentative launch date of June 22 for the company's highly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. This move positions Tesla to compete directly with Alphabet's Waymo, which has already established a presence in the city. Musk emphasized that the date is provisional, stating, "We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift." Additionally, he revealed plans for the first Tesla vehicle to autonomously drive from the factory to a customer's home on June 28, coinciding with his birthday.

The initial rollout of Tesla's robotaxi service will feature a small fleet of 10 to 20 driverless Model Y vehicles. These vehicles will operate within geo-fenced areas of Austin, meaning their service will be restricted to specific zones within the city. Musk highlighted that these are "unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory, meaning that every Tesla coming out of our factories is capable of unsupervised self-driving." Recent sightings of a Tesla Model Y, emblazoned with a "Robotaxi" logo and carrying a passenger without a human driver, were seemingly confirmed by Musk on X, further signaling the imminent launch. The vehicles will utilize a new, "unsupervised" version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, and the fleet will be remotely monitored by Tesla employees. The futuristic CyberCab, another Tesla autonomous vehicle concept, is planned for production next year and is not part of this initial launch.

Austin has been chosen as the launch city over Los Angeles, with Musk suggesting it is a more favorable environment. While he did not specify the exact reasons, Texas generally has fewer regulations concerning autonomous vehicles, and Austin is less densely populated than Los Angeles. The robotaxi landscape in Austin is already active, with Waymo offering autonomous rides through the Uber platform since March, operating a fleet of approximately 100 vehicles. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted that Waymo's Austin fleet is remarkably busy. For context on adoption, Waymo's service in California saw significant growth, increasing from about 12,000 paid rides in August 2023 to 708,180 rides in March 2025, totaling over 5 million rides in three years.

Elon Musk envisions a rapid expansion for Tesla's robotaxi service. He has projected that there could be 1,000 robotaxis operating within a few months of launch and ambitiously predicted that by the end of 2026, there could be more than one million self-driving Teslas in the United States. However, these timelines are often met with skepticism. Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein described Musk's 2026 guidance as "a bit optimistic," suggesting that the software will likely require more iterations than anticipated once real-world robotaxi service testing begins. Musk is known for setting aggressive deadlines that are not always met.

Beyond Tesla, Elon Musk is a prominent figure leading multiple ventures, including aerospace manufacturer SpaceX and artificial intelligence company xAI, which is linked to his social network X (formerly Twitter). He is recognized as the world's richest person. His political activities, such as reportedly spending nearly $300 million to support President Donald Trump's return to the White House and a recently concluded stint leading the Department of Government Efficiency—an initiative described as making sweeping cuts to federal agencies, including those tasked with oversight of Tesla and his other companies—often draw public attention and form part of the broader context surrounding his business endeavors.

The impending launch of Tesla's robotaxi service has elicited mixed reactions. While many Tesla fans and supporters have expressed enthusiasm, concerns about automotive safety have also surfaced. A coalition of groups, including The Dawn Project, Tesla Takedown, and Resist Austin, has announced plans for a demonstration in downtown Austin on June 12. Their stated aim is to highlight safety issues associated with Tesla's electric vehicles and its driver assistance systems, currently marketed as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Dan O'Dowd, CEO of both Green Hills Software (a company that produces software for Tesla's automotive competitors like Ford and Toyota) and The Dawn Project, is a vocal critic leading these efforts, describing The Dawn Project as a tech-safety and security education business.