Tesla’s long-anticipated robotaxi service officially hit the streets of Austin, Texas this past weekend, and the market took notice. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) surged nearly 10% on Monday following the launch of its autonomous ride-hailing program — a milestone CEO Elon Musk called the “culmination of a decade of hard work.”
The pilot involves a small fleet of around 10 to 20 Model Y SUVs operating within a geofenced area in Austin. Rides are invitation-only for now, with early participants including Tesla fans, content creators, and long-time shareholders. Riders were charged a flat fee of $4.20 per trip.
Tesla vehicles used in the pilot were fully autonomous but monitored. A Tesla employee occupied the passenger seat during each ride and could disable the vehicle in the event of a malfunction by pressing the ‘open door’ button, although no major interventions like this were reported. Remote safety teleoperators were also able to intervene if necessary.
Musk celebrated the launch on X, praising Tesla’s AI and chip teams and calling the robotaxi rollout a foundational step toward the company’s future in autonomy. Early users reported smooth, uneventful rides, including an instance of a robotaxi pulling over to the side of the road for an emergency vehicle.
Robotaxi pulls over for an ambulance pic.twitter.com/QFdLggMiUy
— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) June 23, 2025
Analysts like Wedbush’s Dan Ives hailed the service as a glimpse into a “golden age” for Tesla, reaffirming a $500 price target and describing the ride experience as “comfortable, safe, and personalized.” Ives also noted the integration of Tesla accounts with streaming services like Netflix and Spotify during rides.
However, not all on Wall Street were convinced. UBS raised its price target from $190 to $215, but maintained a ‘Sell’ rating, arguing that the potential of robotaxis is already priced into the stock. Meanwhile, Barclays cautioned that scaling the service to match competitors like Waymo or Baidu’s Apollo Go will be a slow and complex process, especially without removing human oversight from the vehicles.
Regulatory challenges also loom. While the launch was approved in Texas, the company had faced calls from lawmakers to delay the debut until new state laws on autonomous vehicles take effect this September. The bill was signed into law on Friday.
