Tesla Inc (Nasdaq: TSLA) is targeting a June 12 launch for its robotaxi service in Austin with 10-20 self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported, as the electric vehicle maker faces federal safety demands and coordination gaps with local authorities.
The launch would mark Chief Executive Elon Musk’s first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service after years of promises about self-driving technology. Tesla shares have fallen 36% in the first quarter, the company’s steepest quarterly decline since 2022.
“We are actually going to deploy not to the entire Austin region, but only the parts that are the safest,” Musk told CNBC on May 20.
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Related: Tesla Secures First California Permit on Path to Robotaxi Service
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given Tesla until June 19 to submit detailed safety data about its robotaxi plans or face penalties of up to $27,874 per day. NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving technology after four reported collisions, including a fatal pedestrian crash.
Austin transportation officials and emergency responders have not received key operational information from Tesla. The city lacks emergency response protocols for robotaxi crashes and details about the vehicles’ autonomy levels.
According to a report from last week, Tesla’s robotaxis will be remotely monitored by company employees rather than having safety drivers inside vehicles. This contrasts with Alphabet Inc‘s (Nasdaq: GOOGL) Waymo, which already operates robotaxis in Austin and tested extensively before launching. Reports suggest Tesla had not begun testing without safety drivers as of April.
Tesla reported a 20% drop in automotive revenue and 13% decrease in vehicle deliveries in the first quarter. Musk has staked Tesla’s future on autonomous driving, saying it and robotics are “the only things that matter in the long term.” Analysts estimate a successful robotaxi business could add as much as $1 trillion to Tesla’s valuation.
Read: Tesla Q1 2025: Worst Quarter Since 2020
Tesla plans to scale rapidly to 1,000 vehicles if the launch proceeds smoothly and expand to other cities later this year.
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