Tesla plans to roll out its first unsupervised Full Self-Driving service in Austin, Texas, this June. Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, shared the news during Tesla’s Q4 2024 earnings call. He said this will be Tesla’s first shot at running a driverless service on public roads anywhere in the world.
Why Austin?
Musk explained it’s a cautious first step.
“We want to dip our toe in the water,”
He said, stressing the need to prove the tech is safe and works well before going bigger. He added that Tesla must show these autonomous cars are clearly safer than human-driven ones.
Talks with Austin Officials
Tesla has been meeting with Austin city leaders since May 2024. They’ve been figuring out how to bring self-driving tech to the streets. The focus is on setting safety rules and getting ready for driverless fleets in the city.
The future is autonomous & it starts in Austin, this June
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 25, 2025
Thanks to Austin City & Texas DOT for hosting & supporting our efforts to unlock safe & low-cost premium point-to-point electric transport pic.twitter.com/4kcMAZuwl0
Competition Heats Up
This move puts Tesla in direct competition with other players in the self-driving game. Waymo, teamed up with Uber, already runs robotaxi services in Austin. The city’s friendly rules for autonomous vehicles make it a hot spot for this kind of tech.
Safety First, Expansion Later
Tesla is working hard to make sure its self-driving system is safe and effective before the June launch. The plan is to take the unsupervised FSD service to more cities by the end of 2025. But that depends on proving it cuts injury risks way down compared to cars with human drivers.
The Future is Autonomous. pic.twitter.com/TRfGdt5BsL
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 26, 2025
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