Musk launches Tesla AI robotaxi in Austin with flat fees under $5

The burgeoning self-driving taxi industry signed on a new player this weekend as Tesla officially debuted its robotaxi service, the CyberCab, in Austin, Texas on Sunday.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X the Tesla AI robotaxi launch began in Austin on Sunday afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee.

The company will operate invite-only robotaxi rides, operated by a few Model Ys, within a geofenced area of Austin during the launch, according to CNBC.

There will be “safety monitors” with the vehicles, Electrek reported, citing invitations. 

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With the new debut, FOX Business takes a look at Tesla’s robotaxi plans and the operations of two other big names in the industry in the U.S. 

Tesla

Tesla’s entry into robotaxi services has been long awaited by investors and fans.

While the initial rollout will reportedly use Model Ys, the company has a CyberCab sedan with no steering wheel or pedals in the pipeline.

Tesla said in its first-quarter shareholder deck that volume production of the Cybercab is expected to begin in 2026. 

Musk unveiled the CyberCab and a planned Robovan designed to carry more passengers during an event in October. At the time, he said the CyberCab had a price tag of more than $30,000, FOX Business previously reported. 

The billionaire Tesla CEO has indicated in past earnings calls that Tesla owners will be able to allow their vehicles to be part of the robotaxi fleet when they don’t need 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 “move the financial needle in a significant way” for the company, “probably around the middle of next year, second half of next year.” 

Waymo

Waymo got its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project that Alphabet, the parent company of Google, subsequently turned into a subsidiary in 2016. 

The autonomous ride-hailing company offers driverless rides in four cities — Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin — with Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C., slated to get the service next year. The service in the nation’s capital will be contingent upon the city council and mayor agreeing to overturn a law that bans autonomous vehicles.

In early May, Waymo said it “provides more than 250,000 paid trips each week” and had over 1,500 vehicles in the four cities where its service is live. 

The company said Tuesday in an X post it was expanding its service areas this week in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

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Waymo is also looking to return to New York City, announcing in another X post it has “applied for a @NYC_DOT permit to drive autonomously with a specialist behind the wheel while we’re in the city” and was “advocating for changes to state law to allow us to bring our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the city one day.” 

The company uses electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles. 

Waymo told FOX Business that “each generation of our autonomous driving technology, including our current fifth generation and the upcoming sixth generation, delivers improved capabilities and performance at a fraction of the cost of the previous system.”

Zoox

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

Its purpose-built robotaxis provide rides to Zoox employees, their families and friends in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Foster City, California, the company said.

Zoox’s test fleet, comprised of manned retrofitted SUVs, is present in a handful of cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Its expansions to Los Angeles and Atlanta took place earlier this year, according to press releases from the company. 

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Zoox said in late May it “recently opened its Zoox Explorer program in Las Vegas, inviting select riders to experience the Zoox robotaxi and provide feedback on the forthcoming service for free.” It is targeting a broader launch of its robotaxi to the Las Vegas public “later this year,” according to the company. 

It has also said it is looking to start providing robotaxi rides to the public in San Francisco in 2025. 

Earlier this week, Zoox revealed it had opened its “first-ever serial production facility” for its robotaxi in the U.S. The 220,000-square-foot Hayward, California, factory will have a capacity for over 10,000 robotaxis per year.