Mentioned:
The era of fully autonomous vehicles is here. And Tesla wants to be a first mover in America.
What’s happening:
- Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has officially launched their robotaxi service in Austin, Texas
Why it matters:
- This is the first time ever that Tesla has rolled out fully autonomous vehicles for paid rides in the United States of America
Going deeper:
- Tesla's Model Y vehicles are now available to select users in the South Austin area through Tesla’s Robotaxi app
- Fully autonomous vehicle companies have also continued to make waves on Wall Street, with Pony AI (NASDAQ: PONY) recently cutting a new deal to launch their self driving vehicles in Dubai and WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) also launching their autonomous vehicles in Abu Dhabi
The fine print:
- While Tesla’s initial debut of robotaxis are fully autonomous, a human is still present in the passenger seat to monitor the trips and ensure the vehicle is operating safely at all times
