Elon Musk confirms Tesla testing robotaxis without human monitors VIDEO

Tesla is taking a major step towards fully autonomous driving, with CEO Elon Musk confirming that the company is testing its robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, without human safety monitors.

Musk’s announcement marks the first confirmed testing of truly driverless Teslas in the city, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

Since the launch of Tesla’s robotaxi service in Austin in June, every vehicle has included a human passenger ready to intervene if the car encountered a situation it could not manage alone.

The confirmation followed a video shared on X showing a Tesla Model Y navigating Austin streets with no occupants. Musk responded to the viral footage, writing: “Testing is underway with no occupants in the car.” Tesla’s AI chief, Ashok Elluswamy, also hinted at the new phase on X, posting: “And so it begins!”

And so it begins! https://t.co/iTOMvXtbJx

— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) December 14, 2025

Despite this milestone, safety concerns remain. Publicly available data suggests Tesla robotaxis have a higher crash rate per mile in Austin than competitors like Waymo, even with a human safety monitor onboard. A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report notes four incidents involving Tesla robotaxis since September, including a collision with a fixed object in a parking lot.

Tesla currently operates a fleet of 31 robotaxis in Austin, up from 29 in November, far short of Musk’s target of 500 cars by year-end. The company also runs services in the San Francisco Bay Area and aims to expand to five major U.S. cities in 2026.

The robotaxi sector is heating up as competitors scale operations. Waymo, for example, recently reported more than 450,000 weekly paid rides, consolidating its lead in autonomous urban transport.

While Tesla’s latest tests demonstrate technological progress, the challenge of safely rolling out unsupervised robotaxis at scale remains significant.

By Aghakazim Guliyev