Tesla begins teasing its highly anticipated ‘Unsupervised Full Self-Driving’ technology rollout in Austin this June. Let’s dial down the excitement.
Here’s what Tesla will actually launch.
Since late last year, CEO Elon Musk has publicly discussed plans to debut Tesla’s autonomous driving capabilities in Texas and California during the second quarter of 2025.
In June, Elon Musk redirected Tesla’s attention towards a paid ride-hailing service featuring autonomous driving capabilities in Austin, Texas. During Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings call in January, CEO Elon Musk specifically noted that…
We are set to launch in June. I discussed the matter with the team. We are confident that we will successfully debut an initial release of fully autonomous, unsupervised driving capabilities in Austin this June. At our Fremont manufacturing unit, we’ve successfully implemented Tesla’s autonomous technology, allowing for fully operational, unsupervised full self-driving capabilities. Similarly, we’re poised to replicate this achievement at our Texas facility, further advancing the company’s autonomous driving initiatives.
Tesla’s “unsupervised self-driving” operation in Fremont refers specifically to vehicles navigating non-public roads and loading areas at slow speeds, vastly different from operating independently on public thoroughfares.
The notion of “unsupervised” is a crucial concept that arises when Tesla informs homeowners that its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) capabilities necessitate perpetual supervision.
Subsequently, allowing vehicles to go “unsupervised” is a crucial milestone for Tesla, as Elon Musk had previously committed to delivering this feature to all homeowners who purchased the ‘Full Self-Driving’ package annually over the past six years.
As Tesla teases the imminent release of its latest innovation, it boldly declares: “The autonomous future starts here, in Austin, this coming June.”
As the highly anticipated launch draws near, uncertainty surrounds Tesla’s plans for its Austin facility: will it finally debut?
Tesla’s much-anticipated Austin product reveal is shaping up to be a game-changer. While the automaker has been tight-lipped about specifics, insiders suggest that the electric pioneer will indeed unveil an all-new vehicle, potentially a compact SUV or Crossover, rather than simply updating its existing lineup.
According to existing data, Tesla is poised to launch an in-house car fleet comprising its current vehicle lineup, with some speculating that the Cybertruck could potentially be integrated into the offering; the company may utilize this new mode of transportation to provide a paid ride-hailing service within a geo-fenced area around Austin.
Tesla’s pivotal move marks a significant step forward, as the company has long asserted that every vehicle built since 2016 is equipped with the necessary hardware to support autonomous driving capabilities.
Musk has claimed that Tesla would have the capacity to deploy hundreds of thousands of robotaxis on the market simultaneously.
Meanwhile, he has questioned the scalability of Waymo’s approach, which involves mapping and geo-fencing specific areas before deployment.
Despite similarities to Waymo’s efforts, Tesla’s forthcoming launch in Austin stands out due to its reliance on cameras alone, diverging from Waymo’s comprehensive sensor suite, including lidar.
Musk noted that the Austin service would likely be autonomous, featuring no one inside the vehicle.
Although vehicles might be empty, it emerged that Tesla was actively pursuing people to operate its teleoperated systems, supporting the development of autonomous vehicles, shortly after announcing plans for unsupervised ride-hailing services in Texas and California last year.
It may suggest that Tesla plans to utilize teleoperation technology to at least “monitor” and potentially “control” its forthcoming autonomous vehicle fleet in Austin, ensuring optimal performance and minimizing potential risks.
Electrek’s Take
After decades of touting self-driving technology as just around the corner, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has declared that “the long run is autonomous” – an ambitious claim considering he previously proclaimed the solution had been found nearly a decade ago.
Moreover, Waymo has been operating its autonomous ride-hailing service in multiple cities for several years, including Austin, where it has been present since earlier this year and is now poised to expand its services further.
While clarifying Tesla’s service launch doesn’t imply malice, it does represent a significant departure from the company’s previous assertions about when this service would be available, which were touted by Elon himself over several years.
After six years of inconsistent predictions about when autonomous driving would become a reality without human oversight, Elon Musk is seeking vindication, and this move enables Tesla to claim it has delivered self-driving capabilities – albeit not the fully autonomous experience promised to consumers for years, where vehicles operate independently in shopper autos.
The revelation that hundreds of thousands of HW3-autonomous vehicles currently on the streets will not achieve full self-driving capabilities must surely divert attention away from the current chaos caused by this unexpected setback. It appears that HW4 autos are poised to follow suit.
