Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the company’s launch of the Robotaxi platform, which officially went live to a small group on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

It is the first time Tesla has offered driverless rides through the ride-hailing platform it has worked to activate for several years, and it was overwhelmingly successful based on early reviews.

The launch was coupled with the release of the first-ever looks at the Tesla Robotaxi app, which does more than allow riders to summon vehicles for transportation. It also allows the rider to adjust climate settings in the car before it arrives for a comfortable ride, and it will sync entertainment and streaming settings to keep occupants entertained.

Tesla Robotaxi riders tout ‘smooth’ experience in first reviews of driverless service launch

The first rides are being performed with a safety monitor in the passenger’s seat. These monitors have no control over the vehicle, and are there just to ensure smooth operation.

The first reviews called rides “smooth” and “comfortable,” and commended Tesla for its hard work over the past few years to make this happen. Many were impressed with the cars’ ability to keep pedestrians safe, avoid congested parking lots, and the efficiency of the rides, as the time from the ride request to the Robotaxi accepting the ride was extremely fast.

Musk has been at the forefront of this operation for a decade, as Tesla has been working to release a version of the Robotaxi through the development of Full Self-Driving. This has been an effort that included seeking top-tier engineering talent and taking incredible leaps of faith, including switching to a Vision-only approach for Full Self-Driving.

Musk commended the Tesla team for its hard work:

Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!

Culmination of a decade of hard work.

Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2025

It’s truly an incredible accomplishment, as many considered Robotaxi a “failure” despite it not even being rolled out. In May, we reported on media outlets calling the Robotaxi rollout a total failure, despite Tesla always maintaining the launch would happen in June:

Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released

Hundreds of rides have already been taken, and there have not been many complaints. It’s an incredible jump forward for Tesla.

Tesla Robotaxi riders are touting their awesome experiences in their first rides using the automaker’s new driverless ride-hailing service, which launched to a limited number of people yesterday for the first time.

On Sunday, Tesla officially launched Robotaxi, its driverless ride-hailing service, in downtown Austin. A select group of people were chosen to receive early access to the program, as well as the new Robotaxi app, which is used to request a ride and will sync everything from climate preferences to streaming settings with each pickup.

Tesla officially launches Robotaxi service with no driver

Teslarati gained access to the Early Access riders program and the Robotaxi app, giving us a first-hand look at the experience. We will be in Austin soon to test out the Robotaxi fleet for ourselves.

However, those who were there for the initial rides on Sunday had nothing but great things to say. Hundreds of rides were taken during the first hours of the Robotaxi program, and neither the company nor the riders reported any issues.

Here’s what people said about their experiences:

• “Extremely smooth stops,” and great awareness of road conditions, including pedestrians, speed bumps, and busy parking lots, were all handled with ease:

Robotaxi slows down really nice for speed bumps. Extremely smooth stops as well pic.twitter.com/H8R2pXllWB

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025

• Safe navigation around pedestrians who walked just off the sidewalk into the road:

Tesla Robotaxi stops for a man who veered off the sidewalk and onto the road as @JoeTegtmeyer and I were approaching Zilker Park earlier today. The stop was smooth and our Tesla Robotaxi allowed him to get back on the sidewalk and continue with our journey. This man is likely… pic.twitter.com/fozP6A7esK

— JC Christopher (@JohnChr08117285) June 23, 2025

• “Just as good as it is during the daytime” at night. There were no changes to report by riders who took rides during the day and evening:

Here is my experience in one of the first public nighttime @Tesla Robotaxi rides. It was smooth, comfortable and just as good as it is during the daytime. pic.twitter.com/7bDvVaWf3A

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 23, 2025

• Avoided expensive and stressful parking at local tourist hotspots like Terry Black’s Barbeque:

Here’s a huge benefit of Tesla Robotaxi-

Dropped us off in front of Terry Blacks, crazy hard to find parking here, yesterday it took me almost 30 minutes to find a spot and today, I got dropped off right in front.

Didn’t have to pay for parking either. Game changing. @robotaxi pic.twitter.com/yZjQ8u4s8X

— Zack (@BLKMDL3) June 22, 2025

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• “Comfortable and similar to existing Tesla cars with FSD,” intuitive and “surreal” experience:

My thoughts after 3 Robotaxi rides:

– Very smooth and comfortable. Similar to existing Tesla cars with FSD.
– App UI is intuitive but can use a couple upgrades (placing a pin anywhere, change trip while in car)
– It is completely and totally surreal.

As a Tesla owner and…

— Farzad (@farzyness) June 22, 2025

• The app is quicker than other ride-sharing services. When a destination is chosen, Robotaxi is already on the way to your location:

My thoughts after 13 Robotaxi rides.

-Driving is very comfortable. It feels similar to our FSD, but braking is even better.

-The app is super fast, pick a destination and the robotaxi is simultaneously on the way.

-Yes our cars do well on FSD, but no one in the driver seat,… pic.twitter.com/pkuaXVxuMP

— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) June 23, 2025

Tesla has officially launched its Robotaxi service platform with no driver in Austin, Texas. This is the first time Tesla has allowed driverless Robotaxis to pick up members of the public and take them around via the ride-sharing service the company has been developing for several years.

Teslarati had a first-hand look at the launch of the Robotaxi service in Austin, as we are part of the Early Access group, which is a limited group of people that will be able to hail a driverless Model Y in the geofenced area in Texas.

The Robotaxi platform is currently geofenced in a small portion of South Austin. It is roughly thirty minutes from end to end, and Tesla’s strategy is prioritizing safety through a number of safeguards that are implemented in this early program.

There is a fixed price of just $4.20 for any ride, regardless of duration, at this time. This will not always be the case, however. When a wider customer base is allowed to hail Robotaxis, ride fares will vary on things like travel distance, length of trip, and potentially time of day.

Here’s one of the first videos of Tesla Robotaxi ride

🎥: @BLKMDL3 https://t.co/LbVLoLtFGQ pic.twitter.com/PUQIqCRLQo

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— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 22, 2025

The first rides kicked off at around 2 p.m. local time in Austin. They are confined to the back row of the Model Y, while a Tesla safety monitor sits in the passenger seat. Passengers will have their personal media and streaming settings available to them as the car will sync with their driver profiles.

Rides are requested through a Robotaxi addition on the regular Tesla iOS app:

🚨 Here’s our FIRST LOOK at the Tesla Robotaxi app! pic.twitter.com/kuEqP4n1SS

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 22, 2025

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The safety monitor is only there to ensure things go smoothly with each ride. They do not have pedals or a steering wheel on their side. The car is doing everything during these Robotaxi rides.

The big takeaway from Robotaxi’s launch is that Tesla will begin generating additional revenue through this new stream. As concerns over demand and annual growth rate continue to take focus from doubters, Tesla’s continuous rollout of the Robotaxi fleet will expand potential revenue opportunities, potentially creating billions upon trillions of dollars in value.

This is something Tesla permabulls like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest and Dan Ives of Wedbush have talked about for years: the launch of a driverless Robotaxi fleet that generates new income streams for Tesla.