After a couple of months of testing its Robotaxi service with invited members, Tesla is beginning to open the doors to its Robotaxi program. The electric car maker’s newly launched iOS app is now live, signaling the start of a wider public beta — though it’s not quite a free-for-all just yet. You’ll still need to join a waitlist, but the service is now open beyond the Tesla-focused influencers who were previously invited.
This move is Tesla’s biggest yet in its driverless mission, and it comes just ten weeks after the company first started Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas. Until now, it was a members-only affair, with carefully selected insiders given a go in the company’s self-driving Model Ys. But with the app going public, Tesla is letting regular folks take a seat.
Tesla seems to be eyeing a sustainable user base: commuters, locals and anyone who’s ever wished they could skip the ride-hailing small talk. And with the app available to iOS users, the rollout feels like the first major signal that Tesla believes it’s ready for primetime.
There’s still a geofence, though it’s grown considerably. The current Robotaxi service area in Austin has ballooned to 190 square miles in the previous 10 weeks, beating out Waymo’s Austin area. That said Waymo currently operates in significantly more cities that Tesla’s Robotaxis, with the automaker beginning tentative testing in San Francisco, California.
Tesla’s Austin geofence now includes its own Giga Texas factory (for customer deliveries), Austin’s airport and freeway routes. Freeway routes come with a caveat: Tesla is keeping a safety monitor in the driver’s seat for those high-speed stretches. This is a choice in the name of safety rather that a legal requirement.
It’s worth noting just how quick this pivot has been. Tesla’s managed to go from closed testing to a public app rollout in about two and a half months. For context, Waymo took 12 months to reach the same stage. It’s fairly obvious that Tesla’s advanced pace comes from its additional years of testing the Full Self-Driving system in beta in consumer cars.
There’s no word yet on when Android users will get access to the app, or how long the waitlist might take. But if you’re in Austin and are quick to tap download, you might just end up in the back seat of the future sooner than you think.
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