Tesla's limited robotaxi service in Austin faces scaling challenges

Tesla has launched a limited robotaxi service without safety monitors in Austin, Texas, but getting a ride has proven extremely difficult. Last week, the company removed safety observers from some vehicles, first allowing employees to use the service before opening it to the public.

Tesla describes this as controlled testing. AI chief Ashok Elluswamy confirmed that only a few fully autonomous vehicles have been added to the fleet initially, operating alongside the main robotaxi vehicles that still have human monitors inside. The proportion of driverless cars will increase gradually.

In practice, there are currently too few of these vehicles. Tesla enthusiast David Moss, who has driven over 10,000 miles using Full Self-Driving v14 without interventions, spent nearly four days in Austin attempting 38 times to hail a robotaxi without a monitor but never succeeded in getting a ride.

The company acknowledges scaling challenges and emphasizes that the current approach was chosen for safety reasons. Tesla plans to increase the number of fully autonomous vehicles as it accumulates operational data and experience. Ultimately, these electric cars are meant to form the foundation of a driverless transportation service, but widespread access to rides without monitors remains limited for now.