Tesla begins Robotaxi rides without safety monitors in Austin

Tesla/Tesla Robotaxi

Tesla began giving members of the public in Austin driverless Robotaxi rides in Model Ys without a safety monitor inside, after months of employee-only tests. The fleet mixed supervised and unsupervised cars; unsupervised vehicles were shadowed by Tesla chase cars that could intervene if needed.

• Launched January 22, 2026 in Austin, Texas with public rides in Model Y vehicles.
• Mixed fleet: some cars without safety monitors; unsupervised cars followed by Tesla chase vehicles for remote monitoring.
• Phased approach: slowly removing monitors over time, not an immediate full rollout of unmonitored service.