Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla, announced that he plans to launch a robot (driverless) taxi service in Austin, Texas, on June 22.
Musk responded to a question from a user on social media platform X about the launch schedule of the robot taxi service, saying, 'tentatively June 22.'
He added, 'We are approaching safety very cautiously, so the date may change.'
Musk also stated, 'The first Tesla to move autonomously from the factory to the buyer's home will be released on June 28.' June 28 is Musk's own birthday.
That day, Musk released a video on X showing Tesla testing a driverless vehicle without a safety supervisor in the back seat on the roads of Austin. The short 8-second clip features a black Model Y Tesla with a white 'robotaxi' logo passing through an intersection. Although there was no driver in the taxi, it was shown waiting for pedestrians crossing the street.
Recently, in an interview with CNBC, Musk revealed that he initially plans to operate only about 10 to 20 robot taxis.
Musk explained, 'We will start with 10 in the first week and gradually increase the number to 20, 30, and 40, operating 1,000 vehicles within a few months.'
He continued, 'Starting with Austin, Texas, we will expand to cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles in California and San Antonio in Texas.'
The initial robot taxi service will use the current Model Y, not the future Cybertruck Tesla model, which will begin production next year. Tesla has stated it will develop and equip new Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology for the robot taxi.