Tesla Targets June 12 For Robotaxi Launch In Austin, Elon Musk Says Company Ramped Up FSD Testing 'A Month Ahead Of Schedule'

Tesla Inc. TSLA will launch its Robotaxi service in Austin on June 12, with CEO Elon Musk confirming that the company is currently testing the Model Y.

What Happened: The June 12 date has been internally discussed, but it remains subject to change, according to an anonymous source familiar with the matter, as cited in a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

The company recently tested a fully autonomous Tesla Model Y in Austin with no remote operations, with only a company engineer in the passenger seat, the source suggested.

Musk has said that the company would initially use vehicles from its line-up, like the Model Y, to operate the autonomous ride-sharing service before incorporating the Cybercab, which is a purpose-built, fully autonomous driving vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals.

Why It Matters: The report comes in as Musk had previously stated the company plans to launch the Robotaxi in Austin sometime towards the end of June, with over 10 Model Ys operating as Robotaxis initially.

Musk has also said that the company has been testing self-driving Model Ys in Austin on public roads for “the past several days” in a post on the social media platform X on Thursday. Musk says that the vehicles were tested without any incidents. He has also echoed his previous comments, which said that Teslas could drive directly to people’s houses from the factory.

The robotaxi launch could provide Musk's EV giant with a much-needed boost as the company continues to grapple with sales declines globally, including Europe, where Tesla sales experienced a 49% YoY plunge.

However, Tesla’s plans to launch its robotaxi in Austin face stiff competition from Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Waymo. Waymo is already an established player in the sector, with over 250,000 weekly rides.

Gerber Kawasaki‘s CEO, Ross Gerber, suggests that the competition between Tesla and Waymo in Austin could be “fascinating” as the two companies operate using different approaches to autonomous driving.

Tesla favors a camera-based system for its FSD tech, which is a crucial element to the Robotaxi, while Waymo uses a LiDAR-based system. Musk has defended Tesla’s decision not to use LiDAR for its Robotaxis and FSD, saying that the company doesn’t need LiDAR because “People don’t shoot lasers out of their eyes.”

Elsewhere, Waymo already operates in over four major cities in the U.S., including Austin. The company recently announced it reached the ten million paid autonomous rides milestone, doubling its lifetime total of five million rides in five months.

Price Action: TSLA gained 2.9% in overnight trading, currently valued at $364.59, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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