Tesla Robotaxi is set to launch in two days, with test vehicles already appearing on the streets

Executives from Tesla Inc., including Elon Musk, recently released a video showing a Tesla vehicle driving without a driver in Austin, Texas, suggesting that the company is in the final stages of launching its robotaxi service in the city. Analysts believe this marks an important step in Musk's strategic transformation in the fields of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, and indicates that the era of large-scale robotaxi expansion is imminent. In the video, a black Model Y is seen driving near South Congress Avenue, a famous tourist area in Austin, with the word "robotaxi" marked on the car door, followed by a vehicle that appears to be for support. The video was posted on Musk's social media platform X, and Musk himself also shared it on his account. Ashok Elluswamy, head of Tesla's autonomous driving team, also shared the video; he recently took over leadership of the Optimus humanoid robot project. Although Musk and Tesla have not announced a specific launch date, media reports previously indicated that Tesla plans to start operating its robotaxi network in Austin on June 12. The company has begun testing the autonomous Model Y SUVs that will be used for initial operations. In some areas of Austin, Model Y vehicles with manufacturer plates and human drivers have already been spotted. These vehicles are expected to be equipped with the "unsupervised" version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. Musk stated in another post on X that the vehicle in the video is using a new version of the software. Musk has consistently bet Tesla's future on robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence. He mentioned that the robotaxi service in Austin will start on a very small scale, initially with only 10 to 20 vehicles, and will gradually expand. It is still unclear who will be the first users of this service, which app will be used, and what the ride costs will be. Previously, Waymo's robotaxi service has been operating in several cities across the U.S., including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, with a fleet of 1,500 vehicles currently deployed. A report released on Monday by a team led by Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney stated that autonomous vehicles have officially entered the commercialization stage for shared mobility and freight, and this technology is expected to continue to penetrate the real economy on a large scale in the 2030s