Tesla stuns investors with new twist in long-awaited Robotaxi rollout: 'This is going to be really great'

Tesla has just pulled the curtain back on its much-hyped Robotaxi program — but there's a twist. The electric vehicle giant revealed that it's already been quietly operating a pilot ride-hailing service using its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system. For now, it's only available to employees in Austin, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The test fleet has completed over 1,500 trips and driven more than 15,000 miles, all under human supervision. In a video shared by Tesla, a safety driver is shown monitoring a car as it navigates on its own. This "supervised" phase isn't the final version — Tesla plans to launch an unsupervised Robotaxi pilot in Austin by June.

So, why the slow rollout? Tesla said the internal testing phase has "helped" refine its Full Self-Driving network, offering critical data for developing its upcoming app-based ride-hailing service. That app, teased last year, will allow users to request rides, allocate vehicles, and receive remote assistance — all from the Tesla app they already use.

FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area.

We've completed over 1.5k trips & 15k miles of driving.

This service helps us develop & validate FSD networks, the mobile app, vehicle allocation, mission control &… pic.twitter.com/pYVfhi935W
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 23, 2025

In 2024, as Tesla was soft-launching the app, it said, "We believe a scalable and profitable autonomy business can be realized through a vision-only architecture with end-to-end neural networks, trained on billions of miles of real-world data."

For consumers, this could mark a big shift in how we get around. Tesla's goal is to replace traditional rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft with electric Robotaxis. If successful, it could make transportation cheaper, cleaner, and more accessible — with less pollution and less need for private car ownership. However, the service still requires regulatory clearance and public trust in autonomous driving technology.

Tesla's announcement comes at a critical time. The company has experienced declining sales in 2025 and is under pressure to deliver the next big thing. Launching a Robotaxi network could help turn things around, especially if it can prove safer and more efficient than existing alternatives.

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Still, there are concerns about the safety and environmental implications of scaling such a service. While EVs reduce tailpipe pollution, the production and disposal of their batteries remain environmentally intensive — which Tesla has yet to address.

Reactions have been mixed. "This is going to be really great once everyone can try it out for themselves," one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, commented.

Another wondered about its feasibility and said, "What are the legal obstacles to getting these on the road eventually driving themselves?" And a third joked about what implications this might have for the future, adding, "Soon driving your own vehicle will be outlawed."

As Tesla prepares for this launch, all eyes will be on whether it can live up to the promise — and pressure — of this futuristic service.