Tesla Robotaxi: Testing in Texas Cities

Tesla's Robotaxi Service: Potential Texas Launch Locations

Tesla is currently assessing several cities within Texas as potential sites for piloting its anticipated robotaxi service. This includes the city of Austin, as revealed in emails accessed by Bloomberg News.

Communication between a Tesla representative and Austin city officials began in May. A training session for first responders was conducted in December, focusing on interaction protocols with Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology, which remains under development.

Austin as a Potential Deployment Site

The Tesla employee conveyed to Austin authorities that while the city is under consideration, a final decision regarding initial deployment hasn't been reached. Multiple locations are being evaluated by the company.

Tesla frequently encourages competition among cities and states when selecting business locations. This strategy was previously observed during the site selection process for its first Gigafactory, reportedly influencing Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s approach to choosing a location for their second headquarters.

Current Testing Status

According to the report, Tesla is not currently conducting on-road testing of its vehicles. This may be linked to the fact that, despite the unveiling of a “Cybercab” prototype in October, the company has not yet fulfilled Elon Musk’s long-standing pledges regarding fully self-driving capabilities and the launch of a robotaxi network.

The realization of a fully self-driving Tesla and the subsequent introduction of a robotaxi service are still pending further technological advancements and regulatory approvals.