In the last couple of days, multiple Tesla Robotaxis have been spotted in Austin, Texas, without a human driver in them. In fact, there was no human seen inside the vehicles at all.
These Tesla Model Y Robotaxis were driving all by themselves as Tesla enthusiasts captured short videos of them passing by. These new videos show that there was no one sitting in the front seats of the Tesla Robotaxi vehicles.
The rear windows of these black Model Y Robotaxis were tinted, so the camera wasn’t able to capture the back seats. However, it’s almost confirmed that there was no one in the back as well.
Both of these Tesla Robotaxi vehicles had Texas Manufacturer number plates. So, it’s confirmed that these Robotaxis were official Tesla testing cars being used for validation.
Tesla Robotaxis run in Austin all the time. So, what’s special about these new cars?
Tesla Model Y Juniper vehicles used for the robotaxi service in Austin, TX, and the SF Bay Area, California, always have a safety driver/assistance present in the vehicles just in case there’s a potential safety issue.
However, in these new sightings, Tesla has removed safety personnel from these vehicles. This means that these test cars are running on a more advanced software version than the one installed in the normal in-service Tesla Robotaxis.
“Testing is underway with no occupants in the car,” Elon Musk confirmed the Unsupervised Robotaxi testing in a post on X.
In Tesla’s terms, we can say that these Robotaxis are running on Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD). At least they are unsupervised in a geofenced area.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk estimated that his tech & AI-based automotive company would deploy Tesla Robotaxis without a safety driver before the end of the year. However, we’re just a couple of weeks away from the start of the new year. The target now appears somewhat ambitious as usual.
Earlier in August, Tesla acquired the license to operate Robotaxi in the entire state of Texas. This allows the automaker to perform large-scale testing in Texas without the boundaries of a geofenced area.
As soon as Tesla’s AI systems have learned enough, Tesla will be able to launch the service across Texas. Tesla is also expanding its robotaxi service in Arizona and has begun testing these vehicles in Pennsylvania in preparation for an expansion next year.
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