Musk says Tesla AI robotaxi now accessible in Austin for $4.20 flat payment

The burgeoning self-driving taxi trade signed on a brand new participant this weekend as Tesla formally debuted its robotaxi service, the CyberCab, in Austin, Texas on Sunday.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned on X the Tesla AI robotaxi launch started in Austin on Sunday afternoon with prospects paying a $4.20 flat payment.

The corporate will function invite-only robotaxi rides, operated by a couple of Mannequin Ys, inside a geofenced space of Austin throughout the launch, in accordance with CNBC.

There might be “security displays” with the automobiles, Electrek reported, citing invites. 

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With the brand new debut, FOX Enterprise takes a have a look at Tesla’s robotaxi plans and the operations of two different large names within the trade within the U.S. 

Tesla

Tesla’s entry into robotaxi providers has been lengthy awaited by traders and followers.

Whereas the preliminary rollout will reportedly use Mannequin Ys, the corporate has a CyberCab sedan with no steering wheel or pedals within the pipeline.

Tesla mentioned in its first-quarter shareholder deck that quantity manufacturing of the Cybercab is anticipated to start in 2026. 

Musk unveiled the CyberCab and a deliberate Robovan designed to hold extra passengers throughout an occasion in October. On the time, he mentioned the CyberCab had a price ticket of greater than $30,000, FOX Enterprise beforehand reported. 

A Tesla Cybercab on show throughout the ninth version of the VivaTech expertise startup and innovation truthful on the Porte de Versailles exhibition middle in Paris June 12, 2025. (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)

The billionaire Tesla CEO has indicated in previous earnings calls that Tesla house owners will be capable to permit their automobiles to be a part of the robotaxi fleet after they don’t want them. 

He has his sights set on introducing Tesla’s robotaxi service to Los Angeles and San Francisco after Austin, CNBC reported. 

In April, Musk predicted the robotaxi service will “transfer the monetary needle in a big method” for the corporate, “in all probability across the center of subsequent yr, second half of subsequent yr.” 

Waymo

Waymo obtained its begin because the Google Self-Driving Automobile Venture that Alphabet, the dad or mum firm of Google, subsequently changed into a subsidiary in 2016. 

The autonomous ride-hailing firm affords driverless rides in 4 cities — Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin — with Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C., slated to get the service subsequent yr. The service within the nation’s capital might be contingent upon the town council and mayor agreeing to overturn a regulation that bans autonomous automobiles.

A Waymo autonomous automobile travels alongside Masonic Avenue April 11, 2022, in San Francisco.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)

In early Might, Waymo mentioned it “offers greater than 250,000 paid journeys every week” and had over 1,500 automobiles within the 4 cities the place its service is reside. 

The corporate mentioned Tuesday in an X publish it was increasing its service areas this week in Los Angeles and the Bay Space.

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Waymo can be trying to return to New York Metropolis, asserting in one other X publish it has “utilized for a @NYC_DOT allow to drive autonomously with a specialist behind the wheel whereas we’re within the metropolis” and was “advocating for modifications to state regulation to permit us to convey our totally autonomous ride-hailing service to the town someday.” 

In San Francisco, riders can obtain the Waymo One app, and the corporate will attain out to riders when it is their flip to experience.  (Waymo)

The corporate makes use of electrical Jaguar I-PACE automobiles. 

Waymo advised FOX Enterprise that “every era of our autonomous driving expertise, together with our present fifth era and the upcoming sixth era, delivers improved capabilities and efficiency at a fraction of the price of the earlier system.”

Zoox

Zoox, owned by Amazon, has purpose-built robotaxis and a testing fleet.

Its purpose-built robotaxis present rides to Zoox staff, their households and associates in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Foster Metropolis, California, the corporate mentioned.

A Zoox autonomous robotaxi in San Francisco Dec. 4, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)

Zoox’s take a look at fleet, comprised of manned retrofitted SUVs, is current in a handful of cities, together with the San Francisco Bay Space, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Its expansions to Los Angeles and Atlanta came about earlier this yr, in accordance with press releases from the corporate. 

Zoox makes use of the identical tools and sensors on their take a look at automobiles as on their robotaxis. (Sunny Tsai / FOXBusiness)

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Zoox mentioned in late Might it “not too long ago opened its Zoox Explorer program in Las Vegas, inviting choose riders to expertise the Zoox robotaxi and supply suggestions on the forthcoming service without cost.” It’s focusing on a broader launch of its robotaxi to the Las Vegas public “later this yr,” in accordance with the corporate. 

It has additionally mentioned it’s trying to begin offering robotaxi rides to the general public in San Francisco in 2025. 

Earlier this week, Zoox revealed it had opened its “first-ever serial manufacturing facility” for its robotaxi within the U.S. The 220,000-square-foot Hayward, California, manufacturing facility could have a capability for over 10,000 robotaxis per yr.