Tesla fans flock to social media to celebrate robotaxi launch
Tesla robotaxis hit the streets of Austin for the first time.
After years of waiting, the Tesla robotaxi finally hit the streets of Austin, Texas, on June 22, 2025.
CEO Elon Musk first mentioned the term robotaxi back in 2016. As recently as last year, Musk claimed there would be 1 million robotaxis on the road by this year.
As he has done numerous times in the past after making such audacious claims, Musk had to scale back his projections significantly.
Related: Tesla takes drastic measures to keep robotaxi plans secret
Tesla launched in Austin this weekend with just 10 robotaxis, but the excitement generated by the brand's faithful may as well be for a million.
Only invited guests who pass a checklist of requirements are allowed to test out the new autonomous taxis, and Musk is promoting the first footage of the rides on his social media platform X. 
See the first robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas
Videos have surfaced recently suggesting that Tesla is not ready to safely operate these vehicles autonomously.
But Tesla won't be leaving passengers in their Austin robotaxis alone, as the company plans to have a “safety monitor” sitting in the front seat during drives.
X user @djseo didn't seem to mind the human in the vehicle's passenger seat as he raved about the magic he felt riding in the car.
"The best tech feels like magic because it’s so normal you don’t even notice it…until you do," he said.
The best tech feels like magic because it’s so normal you don’t even notice it… until you do.
Took a ride in a Tesla Robotaxi today.
In this clip, it pulls aside on a narrow street with construction, making room for an oncoming car that illegally turns into our lane.
The… pic.twitter.com/UZ9S13xGDO— DJ Seo (@djseo) June 23, 2025
Users shared still photos of the vehicles in the wild.
Some of the users who were lucky enough to get invites to the app to take the autonomous trips took multiple rides and raved about their experiences.
Other "Teslavangelists" talked about the practicality of the robotaxi.
"Here’s a huge benefit of Tesla robotaxi — dropped us off in front of Terry Black's, 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," user @BLKMDL3 said.
The same user shared a video suggesting that the robotaxi performed just as well at night as it did during the day.
Tesla safety monitors ride shotgun during initial tests
Keen viewers will notice that in most videos, Tesla fans try to crop the safety monitor out of the shot as much as possible.
Having a human in the vehicle other than the passenger certainly ruins the illusion of a major technological breakthrough, but the monitors are a necessary safety precaution.
The “safety monitor” isn't an abnormal safety feature for an autonomous vehicle. Waymo tested its vehicles for six months with a driver and for six months without one in Austin before it launched its commercial service earlier this year.
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A safety monitor is just one of the robotaxis' safety requirements.
Riders must agree to a TOS agreement, must have a debit or credit card on file, and can only request rides via the app between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. within the geofenced area where it's allowed to operate.
That geofenced area limits where cars can travel and changes based on the time of day.
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