Tesla’s carefully choreographed Robotaxi launch in Austin on Sunday gave us a glimpse of what a driverless taxi service looks like, thanks to dozens of videos posted by fans and influencers invited to the event. The Model Y with “robotaxi” written on the front and sides was seen picking up paying passengers – at a cost of $4.20 per trip – for the first time in some parts of Austin, without anyone in the driver’s seat. Each car had a Tesla employee monitoring from the passenger seat.
Passengers downloaded the Robotaxi app and used it to book their trips. According to Tesla investor Sawyer Meritt, the Tesla owner’s account on the cloud will automatically sync with the Robotaxi’s rear screen. So, their music, apps, and even seat settings were all ready when passengers entered the car.
The front windshield wiper seemed to have a specific function of cleaning the camera, as seen in a video posted by beta FSD tester, DirtyTesla. Instead of wiping the entire windshield, the wiper repeatedly rubbed a small area right above the forward-facing camera, almost like wiping a lens clean. This focused movement is designed to maintain camera clarity, not the entire windshield.
Robotaxis rely on cameras and artificial intelligence to scan the surrounding environment before making active driving decisions, hence keeping the camera – or the vehicle’s “eyes” – clean is crucial.
Not everything went smoothly. Tesla investor Cole Grinde uploaded a video showing the robotaxi making erratic turns into an active lane, fortunately empty, before eventually correcting itself. The Model Y briefly turned on its blinker and seemed to attempt a left turn, only to continue straight as the steering wheel turned left and right in seemingly confusing movements.
In another instance, a passenger caught the car exceeding the speed limit, and online viewers saw a Tesla employee riding shotgun intervening in some situations with what appeared to be some kind of button on the passenger side door handle. The exact function of the button was unclear at the time of writing this article.
However, in at least two other instances, it seems to have done its job as expected. The car pulled over to let an ambulance pass and stopped safely on time when a pedestrian randomly crossed the street out of nowhere.
“This is the peak of a decade’s hard work,” said CEO Elon Musk in a post on his social media platform, X.
Tesla’s approach to product launches is indeed different. While most car manufacturers invite journalists to media events, Tesla has long relied on its devoted fans and investors to spread the news, which is why these social videos are currently the only clues we have about Robotaxi performance. The company did invite media for the Cybertruck debut, but typically, its hype engine runs on the enthusiasm of Musk’s fans on X.
However, the hurdles for the Robotaxi launch are not over. Texas, although it has been a testing ground for autonomous vehicle testing, has tightened regulations for AVs. A series of new laws will come into effect on September 1 and beyond, requiring Robotaxi companies to provide additional information and assurances to the state government for public safety purposes.
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