Tesla has adjusted its Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin after it expanded its service area in the city last week for the third time.

Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi platform in Austin since June 22. The vehicles have been operated without a driver, but Tesla has placed safety monitors in the passenger’s seat as a precaution.

The safety monitors are responsible for performing any necessary interventions and maintaining a safe and comfortable cabin for riders as they experience Tesla’s first venture into the driverless ride-sharing space.

Last week, Tesla expanded its service area in Austin for the third time, expanding it from about 90 square miles to 170 square miles. The expansion included new territory, including the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, and several freeways.

Tesla Robotaxi geofence expansion enters Plaid Mode and includes a surprise

The freeway is an area that is uncharted territory for the Tesla Robotaxi program, and this fact alone encouraged Tesla to switch up its safety monitor positioning for the time being.

For now, they will be riding in the driver’s seat when routes require freeway travel:

Sept 1 in Austin and our Robotaxi arrived with Tesla safety driver in the driver seat, similar to the Bay area (no logo on the car). Here’s that first moment when I realized, our autonomous car was heading onto the freeway. pic.twitter.com/1QfyN2Ubzf

— Gail 🇺🇸 (@gailalfaratx) September 2, 2025

The positioning of the driver, as well as the driver’s hands being closer to the steering wheel, is more similar to what Tesla is doing in the Bay Area Robotaxi program than it is to what it has done in Austin.

This is sure to draw criticism from skeptics, but it is simply a step to keep things controlled and safe while the first Robotaxi drives take passengers on the highway with this version of the Full Self-Driving software.

This FSD version differs from the one that customers have in their own vehicles, but CEO Elon Musk has indicated something big is coming soon. FSD v14 is coming to vehicles in the near future, and Musk has said its performance is pretty incredible.

Tesla’s Elon Musk shares optimistic teaser about FSD V14: “Feels sentient”

Tesla has launched its Full Self-Driving suite in a new region, marking a significant step in the company’s progress to expand its driver assistance suite on a global scale.

It is also the first time Tesla has launched FSD in a right-hand-drive market.

Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Previously, Basic and Enhanced Autopilot suites were available, but the FSD capability now adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, along with all the features of the previous two Autopilot suites.

🚨 Tesla has officially launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for the price of $10,100 outright.

The move marks a significant step in Tesla’s progress to expand the suite on a global scale pic.twitter.com/zzHa8Ngqls

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— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2025

It is the first time Tesla has launched the suite by name in a region outside of North America. In China, Tesla has “City Autopilot,” as it was not permitted to use the Full Self-Driving label for regulatory reasons.

However, Tesla still lists Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

The company teased the launch of the suite in Australia earlier this week, and it appeared to have been released to select media members in the region earlier this week:

Tesla FSD upcoming Australia release seemingly teased bv media

The rollout of Full Self-Driving in the Australian market will occur in stages, as Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with Hardware 4 will receive the first batch of FSD rollouts in the region.

TechAU also reported that “the initial deployment of FSDs in Australia will roll out to a select number of people outside the company, these people are being invited into Tesla’s Early Access Program.”

Additionally, the company reportedly said it is “very close” to unlocking FSD in customer cars:

BREAKING: Tesla has officially announced that FSD (Supervised) is launching in Australia, marking a huge milestone for the company.

The rollout will happen in stages. HW4 Model 3s and Model Ys will get it first. Tesla says it is “very close” to being unlocked in customer cars.… pic.twitter.com/r1dYnFRa6o

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— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 28, 2025

Each new Tesla sold will also come with a 30-day free trial of the suite.

Australia is the sixth country to officially have Full Self-Driving available to them, following the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Here’s the first look at the suite operating in Australia:

SpaceX is set to launch its tenth test flight of the Starship program, with a launch window that will open at 6:44 p.m. local time, or 7:44 p.m. on the East Coast.

Starship’s tenth test flight was originally scheduled for launch yesterday with a one-hour window that opened at 7:30 p.m. ET, but it was called off 17 minutes before that window even had a chance to open.

Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch

SpaceX moved the flight to tonight. It was also originally scheduled to have a launch window at the same time as Sunday, but it was pushed back 14 minutes to around 6:30 p.m. ET. There are storms in the area, as well as clouds over Starbase, so there is the off chance for another launch delay.

There are several big objectives for this launch, including the expansion of the operating envelope for the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX says there are “multiple landing burn tests planned.”

The booster will also be performing a few in-flight experiments to help with data collection. Specifically, real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios will be on the list of things SpaceX will be looking for.

Starship itself will have a few in-flight objectives that include the deployment of eight Starlink simulators that are similar in size to the next-gen satellites for the internet service. SpaceX was set to test this with Starship’s seventh test flight, which occurred in January 2025. However, the task was abandoned as the vehicle was destroyed before deployment could occur.

Liftoff conditions are currently looking favorable, and SpaceX will be eager to improve upon its Starship launch program as CEO Elon Musk has big plans for it in the coming years.

You can watch the launch below via SpaceX:

Watch Starship’s tenth flight test → https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B https://t.co/MQg9ZAjCip

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2025

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