Tesla's First Robotaxi Service
On June 22, 2025, Tesla officially launched its Robotaxi self-driving taxi service in the South Austin, Texas area, using about 10-20 Model Y vehicles. Users book a car through the Tesla app, with a fixed price of $4.20/trip, regardless of distance or time. Currently, the service is only available to invited guests, mainly Tesla investors and fans.
Although the cars operate autonomously thanks to Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, each trip has a Tesla employee in the passenger seat to monitor safety. The service operates from 6 a.m. to midnight, but is limited to a small area, does not go to Austin-Bergstrom Airport, and may be suspended during bad weather.
Users like Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor, describe the experience as “smooth and comfortable” on the X. Passengers can adjust the temperature, access music or videos through the car’s display, synced with their Tesla account.
Cautious but ambitious
CEO Elon Musk called it “the culmination of a decade of work,” stressing the role of AI and in-house software. He said Tesla was starting small to ensure safety, with plans to gradually increase the number of cars to thousands in a few months if the tests were successful.
But Robotaxes still face challenges. Some videos on X show vehicles driving in the wrong lane or slowing to stop at their destinations. Texas is also set to implement a new law on September 1, 2025, requiring self-driving cars to be licensed and to coordinate with police and firefighters in the event of an accident. A group of Democratic lawmakers asked Tesla to delay the launch until the law takes effect, but the company went ahead anyway.
Competition in the Robotaxi Market
Tesla is racing against rivals like Waymo (Alphabet), which provides 250,000 self-driving rides per week in Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Zoox (Amazon), which is testing in Austin. Waymo has the advantage of experience, with commercial service starting in 2020, while Tesla relies on cameras, not lidar like its rivals, to keep costs down.
Analysts say Robotaxi could generate billions of dollars in revenue if it expands successfully, helping Tesla transition from selling cars to providing mobility services. However, reaching scale will depend on safety, regulatory approval and consumer trust.
The robotaxi is a big step forward for Tesla, but the Austin test is just the beginning. With an attractive price of $4.20 and a personalized experience, the service has attracted attention, but Tesla needs time to perfect the technology and scale up. Vietnamese users can wait and see how this model develops before expecting it to come to the domestic market.
Source: https://baonghean.vn/tesla-theo-chan-xanh-sm-mo-dich-vu-taxi-xe-dien-dau-tien-10300334.html
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