Tesla is testing Robotaxis in Austin without people in the front (or back)

It looks like Tesla’s driverless cars are finally ditching the driver. On Sunday, eyewitnesses spotted at least two Robotaxis driving around Austin without safety monitors — the Tesla employees who’ve been stationed in the front seats since the service launched in June.

In a post on X, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company is testing the service “with no occupants in the car” — so no safety monitors or passengers.

The development suggests that Tesla is making progress toward its promise, announced on its last earnings call, of removing safety drivers from the ride-sharing service in “at least large parts of Austin” by year’s end. Just last week at an xAI event, Musk reiterated that timeline.

Having a truly autonomous ride-hailing service would bring Tesla closer to catching up with Google’s Waymo, which is leading the battle for the driverless future. Tesla ultimately hopes to use its autonomous tech to turn much of its existing fleet into driverless cars and quickly scale its Robotaxi service — a move that would help prove itself to be an AI company rather than just a car company.

Always ahead of the curve, Musk last week told a Google executive that “Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla.”