In the business environment, Tesla is often synonymous with innovation and calculated risk, especially under Elon Musk's leadership. One of its most recent moves has managed to surprise even those who closely follow every step of the company. What seemed like a distant idea is now beginning to take shape with firm steps.
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla has already started deploying its robotaxis in Austin, Texas. The initiative begins with a small fleet of autonomous vehicles that will operate without drivers. The plan includes a progressive expansion to other cities in the United States, with San Francisco being one of the key destinations in this new phase.
The start of a new era in mobility
During an interview with CNBC, Musk detailed that the launch will begin with just ten vehicles in circulation. These cars will be Model Ys, equipped with the Full Self Driving system in its most advanced version, known as FSD Unsupervised. Each vehicle will be geolocated, meaning it will not be able to leave the urban area of Austin.
The most striking measure is that these robotaxis will not have any type of operator inside the vehicle; in case of incidents, there will be no person at the wheel ready to intervene. Musk defended this decision by arguing that there will be constant monitoring of the cars' behavior. According to him, as trust in the system increases, the need for external supervision will decrease.
The announcement has caused both excitement and concern. Although Tesla had been promising fully autonomous vehicles for years, this is the first time it is being implemented without safety personnel on board. The goal is clear: to scale this technology until thousands of units are operating simultaneously.
Direct competition with Waymo and Musk's challenge
Tesla now enters direct competition with Waymo, an Alphabet company, which already leads the autonomous transport sector. Waymo records up to 250,000 trips a week and has its main operations center in San Francisco, reveals Mundo Deportivo. There, its Jaguar I-PACE cars operate via mobile application and have human supervisors as backup.
The difference between both proposals is key. While Waymo keeps a more cautious approach, Tesla bets on a much riskier and ambitious strategy. Musk believes this is the moment to distance himself from his competitors by launching a model without human intervention from the start.
To achieve his goals, the entrepreneur plans to keep leading Tesla for at least five more years. His intention is to consolidate the company's leadership in the field of autonomous mobility. With this move, Musk wants to change forever the way we move through cities.