Watch: Passengers take Tesla’s first Robotaxi rides

Tesla

Tesla’s long-teased robotaxi dream is now a limited reality — and early users are offering the first glimpses from inside the driverless Model Y rides now operating in Austin, Texas.

Over the weekend, Tesla quietly launched its autonomous ride-hailing service with a fleet of 10 self-driving Model Y electric SUVs. The service, which is currently invite-only, is running within a geofenced area of South Austin, and passengers are sharing their experiences via videos posted to social media.

Here’s what the first videos reveal:

Each vehicle has a Tesla “Safety Monitor” riding shotgun — not to drive, but to intervene if needed. The actual driver’s seat? Unoccupied.

A rear-seat tablet shows a live map of the ride, the selected destination, and the estimated time of arrival — just like Uber, but without the small talk.

Robotaxi rear screen UI pic.twitter.com/rdZuvqMY1I

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025

Early riders report slow, deliberate driving behavior. Turns are wide, stops are frequent, and the car avoids aggressive lane changes. It’s very clearly playing it safe, which makes sense in a public-facing debut.

Hailing via Robotaxi App: Riders call their robotaxi via Tesla’s newly launched app. The app displays available coverage zones and ride history, and limits pick-up/drop-off within the designated operational map.

Here’s a quick overview of the Tesla Robotaxi app! pic.twitter.com/AAtPZS1E5T — Rob Maurer (@TeslaPodcast) June 22, 2025

First Ride in Robotaxi 🤯🤯🤯 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼@Tesla@KalenaKBrown@elonmuskpic.twitter.com/ZN62yNEvgb — Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) June 22, 2025

According to Tesla’s welcome email, the service won’t run in poor weather conditions, such as heavy rain or fog. That’s a likely nod to the vision-only AI system’s limitations.

Getting in a Tesla Robotaxi. pic.twitter.com/ibByy7bMg3 — Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 22, 2025

Getting dropped off in the RoboTaxi! Incredible first ride @Tesla_AIpic.twitter.com/AMxUBOxDJw

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025

For now, only handpicked users are allowed to hail rides, and they can bring one adult guest. Every rider remains under Tesla’s early-access guidelines and limited feedback loop.