It’s no secret that Tesla has been working on self-driving technology for over a decade in an effort to have driverless ride-hailing cars on public roads.
Now, the company is getting very close to that milestone with the invitation of early access to the Robotaxi platform in the city of Austin, Texas, going out.
Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla and EV news account holder on X, shared that he has received an invitation to test out the new Robotaxi service in the city.
The email states: “You’re Invited to Early Access of Tesla Robotaxi! The Future is Now! You’re invited to Early Access of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, TX!”.
This service starts on 22nd June US time and is currently open to invited users and will be operating daily, in the hours of 6:00 AM and 12:00 AM (midnight).
Tesla will also send instructions to invited users on how to download the “Robotaxi App” to order the ride.
It will also display the geofenced area within the app where the initial Robotaxi service will be offered.
On top of that, early access to the user interface of the Robotaxi has been spotted in one of the cars being tested in the Austin area.
Nikola Brussels on X shared a video of a grey Tesla Model Y, which is being driven in supervised mode with the vehicle operator sitting in the passenger seat.
Zooming into the centre screen of the driverless vehicle, typical Tesla user interface (UI) is spotted with the routing map and location of the vehicle covering two-thirds of the screen.
Closer to the driver side, there are two large buttons. One is in orange, which states “Pull Over” while the other is in Red, stating “Emergency Stop”.
These are larger than any other buttons on the screen, hinting that this is likely the testing interface. The actual service may look different.
Meanwhile, over in Europe, Tesla has released a video of FSD with a supervising driver being tested in Berlin, Germany.
The video shared by Tesla Europe on X, shows the left-hand-drive car driving itself to its location.
It navigates city traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and multiple other complex intersections on an overcast day to reach its destination, pulling up behind a Renault Kangoo van.
It comes only weeks after a similar video showcased the system being used around the streets of Melbourne, right here in Australia.
With the launch of its unsupervised Robotaxi only days away and invitations to try the service in Austin, it’s a significant milestone for Tesla.
We are sure to see how the service operates and a sneak peek into what can be expected in the years to come, as it is likely to expand across multiple continents, and forming the future of electric transport.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.