Driverless Model Y to be launched on June 12 as Tesla already lets it roam Austin unsupervised

People in Austin and those visiting after June 12 will be able to test drive the inaugural Tesla robotaxi service that has been years in the making. Test ride, actually, as the cars that Tesla unleashes on public roads there will be driverless.

Elon Musk confirmed that the new Model Y has already made its first drives with unsupervised FSD on and a Tesla employee as a passenger in Austin. Opening the Tesla robotaxi ride-share platform to the public, however, won't happen before June 12.

When asked if anyone who comes to visit Austin for the purpose of calling and testing a driverless Model Y on unsupervised FSD will be able to do so, Elon Musk replied affirmatively. The robotaxi platform will appear as an option in the Tesla app when the service goes live, and that is when its ride prices will be announced.

It remains to be seen how competitive the Tesla robotaxi rides will be compared to Uber or Lyft, but, given that there will be no driver involved, just about ten Model Y pilot units that Tesla will own and operate, the rides should be cheaper.

Musk said that the last few days of testing a driverless Model Y on city streets in Austin have gone without a single accident, and if all goes well, Tesla plans to expand its robotaxi platform to more cities later this year. In 2026, it will open the platform to owners who'd like to lend their vehicles to the robotaxi fleet for any length of time to earn some money, while Tesla keeps a fee for operating the platform like Uber does.

Tesla will also make the first driverless delivery of a new Model Y straight out of the factory to its buyer in June, revealed Elon. This will probably be in Austin again, as Texas doesn't regulate self-driving cars much differently than those with a human behind the wheel.