After years of build-up, Elon Musk has revealed that the first pilot tests of Tesla’s robotaxi service will begin next month in Austin, Texas. The first round of these trials begins in June. It will be targeting areas that Tesla has already highlighted as “the safest.” For the company, this move is a new milestone as it digs its heels deeper into the autonomous vehicle space.
During a recent interview with CNBC, Musk let slip that Tesla has an equally thrilling new geofencing plan up its sleeve. This method will limit AVs to specific areas, allowing for a better supervised environment for testing. The geofenced approach limits vehicles to only allowed areas. This represents a serious strategic departure from Musk’s previous statements on the intent of developing a general-purpose self-driving solution that could drive anywhere under any condition, fully autonomously and with no human input.
As he has in the past, Musk touted safety — real or imagined — as a reason why to roll out the new robotaxi service. He stated, “We’re going to be extremely paranoid about the deployment, as we should be. It would be foolish not to be.” This cautious approach reflects Musk’s commitment to ensuring the reliability and safety of the robotaxi service before scaling it up.
The tests in Austin soon to start are only the first of many tests to come. Musk has similar trials planned for California later this year. He is just as eager to spread the robotaxi service’s wings across other states. Yet, even this expansion is contingent on the successful implementation of the aforementioned initial tests.
The White House’s decision to take a geofenced approach was made because Musk wants a way to control risk when it comes to autonomous driving. He noted, “I think it’s prudent for us to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well, and then scale it up proportionate to how well we see it’s doing.” This strategy gives Tesla the unprecedented ability to closely track the real-world performance of its vehicles without bogging down its support infrastructure.
Tesla’s commitment to safety is shown by their operating procedures during the tests. The vehicles will be running driverless of any kind—with no safety operators inside, which is the final mark of confidence in the company’s technology. Musk reassured potential users by stating, “not going to take intersections unless we are highly confident [they’re] going to do well with that intersection, or it’ll just take a route around that intersection.”
The first test of Tesla’s robotaxi service in Austin showcases the company’s ambition and innovation within the autonomous vehicle sector. As they both head into this trial, industry professionals and consumers combined will be eagerly anticipating what comes next.