First unattended Model Y robotaxi rides don't let passengers take over

Tesla is putting its insurance money where its mouth is, starting truly unsupervised Model Y rides on its Robotaxi platform for the first time.

The autonomous Model Y robotaxis servicing cities like Austin or San Francisco run on a custom software branch that Tesla dubs unsupervised FSD in contrast to the supervised version available to the general Tesla owning public.

While Tesla will merge the two branches later this year, allowing 2026 Model Y owners with HW4 kit to loan their vehicles to the Robotaxi platform and earn some extra cash, for now the truly unsupervised rides are only available in Austin.

Texas doesn't have any specific regulations targeting self-driving vehicles, that is why Tesla is starting to offer ride-share drives without a safety monitor employee in the passenger seat there first. Initially, it will mix both unsupervised and supervised rides, gradually increasing the share of the truly autonomous experience with nobody in the car but the passengers.

Tesla is so confindent in the FSD safety record that it doesn't even allow passengers to touch the steering wheel of the Model Y and take over vehicle control. When someone nudges the wheel too many times, the Model Y robotaxi will simply pull over, for instance.

Tesla has also provided its FSD safety statistics to third-party insurers like Lemonade, which is launching a custom product for autonomous vehicles that charges 50% cheaper premiums for each mile driven by Tesla's FSD software instead of a human driver.

Get the Tesla Universal Wall Connector with 24' Cable on Amazon