Tesla has started rolling out an initial round of invites for its upcoming Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.

Screenshots shared by several Tesla community members who received the invites provided a quick overview of the autonomous ride-hailing service.

As noted in a techAU report, the initial round of Robotaxi service invites has gone to longtime Tesla owners and active members of the EV community. These include owners such as @SawyerMerritt, @BLKMDL3, @WholeMarsBlog, @ItsKimJava, and @HerbertOng, all of whom shared screenshots of the invitation that Tesla has sent about the upcoming service.

You’re Invited to Early Access of Tesla Robotaxi!

The Future is Now! You’re invited to Early Access of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, TX!

As an Early Access rider, you can be among the first to use our new Robotaxi App and experience an autonomous ride within our geofenced area in Austin. Through this exclusive preview, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service.

Based on Tesla’s message, it appears that participation in the service would be strictly invite-only for now. Participants must also download Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi App to hail a ride. Rides can also be requested and initiated to and from any location within a geofenced area of Austin. The robotaxi service will be available from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, seven days a week, though these hours may change depending on factors such as inclement weather.

Interestingly enough, Tesla is inviting the first participants of the Robotaxi program to share photos and videos of their experience with the service.

While the vehicles themselves are autonomous and would operate without human input, the Robotaxis would still be accompanied by a Tesla staff member to monitor the vehicle. This strategy suggests that Tesla is really putting safety above all in its initial Robotaxi rollout.

A group of Democratic lawmakers from Austin is asking Tesla to postpone its planned robotaxi rollout, at least until a new state law governing autonomous vehicles takes effect in September.

The letter, which was sent Wednesday, urges Tesla to delay its initial robotaxi launch in the interest of public safety.

What the lawmakers’ letter says

In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers stated that delaying Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch would build trust in the electric vehicle maker’s autonomous vehicle operations.

“We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025. We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations,” the letter read.

The lawmakers noted that if Tesla wishes to push through with its planned June 22 launch, the company must provide detailed information explaining its robotaxi service’s initial launch.

New rules kick in September

The new Texas law passed state legislature last month, and it introduces stricter requirements for companies deploying fully self-driving cars. 

Current state law allows autonomous vehicle testing without a human driver, as long as vehicles meet basic registration and insurance standards. The updated framework gives state agencies more oversight, including the ability to revoke permits if autonomous vehicles pose safety risks.

It remains to be seen if the Democratic lawmakers’ efforts will bear fruit, especially since Texas is state where Republicans hold the governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers, as noted in a Reuters report.

Elon Musk, for his part, confirmed that Tesla’s initial robotaxi launch for Austin this June will start with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles. He also noted the service would initially operate only in parts of the city the company deems safest.

Tesla has not issued a comment about the Democratic lawmakers’ letter as of writing.

xAI’s Grok 3 is partnering with Oracle Cloud to deliver its advanced AI model to corporate customers.

Oracle announced its collaboration with xAI earlier this week. The partnership leverages Oracle’s robust infrastructure to offer xAI’s Grok 3, positioning it as a transformative tool for business applications.

“Today, we announced xAI has selected Oracle to offer xAI’s Grok models via OCI Generative AI service for a wide range of use cases and will use OCI’s leading AI infrastructure to train and run inferencing for its next-generation Grok models,” said Clay Magouyrk, Executive Vice President at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, via LinkedIn.

Oracle’s cost-effective AI capabilities will support xAI’s demanding workloads, enabling faster processing for enterprise users.

Oracle’s Karan Batta told Reuters: “Our goal here is to make sure that we can provide a portfolio of models – we don’t have our own.” Oracle will host Grok 3 alongside models from Meta, Mistral, and Cohere, ensuring corporate data remains secure within existing Oracle protections.

Oracle’s strategy focuses on integrating popular AI models into corporate software, and xAI’s Grok 3 enhances this portfolio. The collaboration expands Grok’s reach to businesses seeking secure, high-performance AI solutions for diverse use cases.

Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok 3 in February. It competes with models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. Grok 3 is free for all X users, but features are limited. X offers Premium and Premium+ subscribers access to Grok 3’s advanced capabilities like DeepResearch and Think modes. Users who are not paid subscribers have access to Grok 3’s basic features.

Elon Musk’s companies have a longstanding relationship with Oracle. In 2018, Tesla appointed Oracle founder Larry Ellison to its board, a move Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives called a “home run appointment.”

In 2023, Ellison–who is no longer on Tesla’s board but still close with Musk–revealed plans for a Tesla Cybertruck police car.

“Our next-generation police car is coming out very soon,” Ellison said at the 2023 Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas. “It’s my favorite police car. It’s my favorite car, actually. It’s Elon’s favorite car.”

Grok 3’s integration into Oracle Cloud strengthens xAI’s position in the corporate artificial intelligence market. By combining Oracle’s infrastructure with Grok’s cutting-edge capabilities, this collaboration could redefine enterprise AI adoption, driving innovation across industries.