Driverless Tesla Robotaxi spotted in Austin

Tesla Robotaxis in Austin are finally doing what they were always supposed to do: drive themselves without a human at the wheel.

A Tesla Model Y was recently spotted driving on one of Austin’s public roads with absolutely no one at the wheel, or at the passenger seat.

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While that may be a scary sight to some, it’s basically the same thing Alphabet’s Waymo’s been doing in Austin for years now. The biggest difference, however, is that Tesla is using seemingly unmodified Model Y cars, the same ones you can buy as your own personal car, while Waymo is relying on heavily modified Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.

So far, Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin has been operating with a human safety monitor in the driver’s seat, but this is seemingly changing soon.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company is testing fully driverless Robotaxis, writing on X, “Testing is underway with no occupants in the car.”

In November, Musk said that he expects “Robotaxis to to operate without safety drivers in large parts of Austin this year.” The year is almost at its end, but judging by this latest development, the company might just make the deadline.