Tesla Aims to Remove Robotaxi Safety Operators in Austin, Expand to More States, by Year-End

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company is preparing to launch fully driverless operations in Austin, Texas, before the end of 2025. During Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call, Musk also revealed that the company expects to expand its autonomous driving program to as many as ten U.S. metro areas by year’s end.

Removal of Safety Operators

Austin has served as a testing ground for Tesla’s robotaxi program, first launching in the company’s home city in June 2025. Since that time, Safety Operators have been sitting in the front passenger seat for city rides, and in the driver’s seat for highway rides.

However, for a fully autonomous robotaxi, those Safety Operators will eventually have to be removed. According to Musk, that should happen before the end of the year, although not across the entire geofenced area within Austin.

“We are expecting to have no safety drivers in large parts of Austin by the end of 2025,” Musk said.

While no details were provided on the exact routes or operating boundaries, the plan would mark the first time Tesla robotaxis have operated commercially without a Safety Operator behind the wheel or in the passenger seat.

Robotaxi Expansion

Musk also shared an update on the company’s Robotaxi expansion plans, revealing that Tesla aims to have its autonomous fleet operating across multiple U.S. metro areas in the coming months.

According to Musk, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona should serve as the next markets to see robotaxi operations before the end of 2025. Tesla has already received approval from Arizona and Nevada to test their robotaxi before a commercial rollout, while Florida is a market we have yet to hear anything about, until now.

“We do expect to be operating Robotaxi in 8-10 metro areas by the end of the year,” Musk said. “We expect to be operating in Nevada, Florida, Arizona by the end of this year.”