After almost a decade of promises of self-driving vehicles on the road, Elon Musk's Tesla has launched the Robotaxi. The Tesla Robotaxis are presently running in a small geofenced space designated for them in Austin, Texas, between 6 a.m. and midnight.
The Robotaxi service isn't currently open to general users, and only some Tesla influencers have gotten invites to experience the ride.
Users said the rear display prompts the passengers to buckle their seatbelts, and upon hitting an animated “start ride” button, the car sets off.
Sawyer Merritt, who publishes pro-Tesla content on X, waited for the Tesla Robotaxi before sharing a picture of the map where the Robotaxi will provide service.
Here's is Tesla's Robotaxi geofenced area. pic.twitter.com/rPReAYtpO1
June 22, 2025Another user, Bearded Tesla Guy, shared a video of his ride in the Robotaxi, calling it “smooth” even as it passed through traffic. He also said the app's interface was much like Uber, and the Robotaxi pretty much did everything similar to what normal users would do.
Tesla RoboTaxi First Public Ride Livestream https://t.co/2KIm1TiieI
June 22, 2025Several people experienced challenges locating the pickup spot for their Tesla Robotaxi, mentioning that it kept re-routing. One user, Herbert Ong, livestreamed his Robotaxi experience, during which he had to walk quite a bit to reach the taxi, and another person commented “This is like Pokemon hunting”.
EXCLUSIVE: First Tesla Robotaxi Rides Ever! https://t.co/13ldQtIn07
June 22, 2025There are buttons on the central display for “pull over,” “stop in lane,” “support”, along with battery remaining, speed, and more.
A user, Chuck Cook, shared his livestream, and it took around two minutes for Cook to get connected to an operator, and his ride was 4 minutes away. He noted that the visualisation was missing several controls typically found in a standard Tesla.
Cook's video also showed the car approaching the parking, passing pedestrians and children, and after stopping, giving the “open trunk instruction. The Robotaxi zoomed away a few seconds after he got off and took his baggage.
First Robotaxi Rides https://t.co/K6mbCJpQEQ
June 22, 2025Overall, users described their ride as “great,” “smooth,” and “normal”, even though one user said the remote operator had to step in to help on one occasion.
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