**Tesla Takes the Wheel: No Human Driving These Robotaxis**
Elon Musk just dropped a bombshell on his social media platform, X, announcing that Tesla has officially launched robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas – with no human safety driver on board! This marks a major milestone for the electric vehicle giant, which is pushing the boundaries of autonomous technology.
So, what’s the big deal? For starters, this is a huge step towards fully autonomous driving, where humans aren’t needed to intervene in case something goes awry. The robotaxis in Austin are part of a controlled deployment, with the company testing the waters to ensure safety.
According to Yao, Tesla’s AI lead, the company will start with a mix of supervised and unsupervised vehicles, with safety screens in place. The ratio of unsupervised vehicles will increase over time. Musk took to X to share the news, saying, “Just started Tesla Robotaxi drives in Austin with no safety monitor in the car. Congrats to the Tesla AI team!” He also made a pitch for engineers interested in “fixing real-world AI”, which he claims will lead to the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
But before you think Tesla’s entire fleet in Austin is now driverless, think again. I reached out to a rider who took a ride, and it seems that riders are still being charged for the service. Most autonomous driving companies, like Zoox and Waymo, didn’t charge for their initial driverless rides. And, interestingly, a chase car follows the driverless vehicles, just in case something goes wrong.
I’ve reached out to Tesla for clarification, but so far, no response. I’ll update this article if I get any additional info.
The robotaxi service is part of Tesla’s plan to make autonomous driving a reality, and it’s exciting to see the company taking big strides towards that goal. Whether or not this is a game-changer for the industry remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – it’s generating a lot of buzz.
**Update:** I’ve updated the article to reflect the fact that Tesla is charging for the rides.
