Tesla Launches Robotaxi in Austin
June 29, 2025
This Week in The Autonomy Economy is presented by Koop, a specialist insurance provider focused on robotics and autonomous vehicles.
This Week in the Autonomy Economy, Tesla launched Robotaxi in Austin, Travis Kalanick is eyeing a comeback of sorts and OpenAI’s autonomous driving ambitions continue to grow.
Tesla’s launch of Robotaxi in Austin is a monumental moment for the company and one that validates Elon Musk’s vision-only strategy for autonomous driving. But yet unfortunately when you read a news article, a post on X or watch the news you get a distorted view of what is really happening in Austin.
On one side of the debate you have the pro-Tesla, Tesla can do no wrong crowd and on the other side you have the anti-Tesla, Tesla can do nothing right crowd. Yes, Elon Musk is polarizing, but despite the polarization and noise Tesla is making history.
If you had asked us five years ago whether Tesla could ever do what it’s doing today in Austin, we would have said 2030. Even then, though, we would have kept an open mind and said it could happen faster. And that day is today, Tesla did it and they are changing the market.
Tesla’s launch of Robotaxi and the first fully autonomous delivery of a vehicle to a paying customer on Saturday, June 28th is historic. This delivery will force every OEM to rethink how they deliver vehicles, putting even more pressure on traditional dealer networks. The days of going to a dealer, or even a Tesla showroom to pick up a new car are coming to an end.
We’ll never forget the day we picked up our first Tesla. It was simply magic. No paperwork, no talking to anyone, no waiting, we just walked up to the car and saw a “Congratulations, Welcome to the Tesla Family” placard with a picture of Elon and our name. We got in the car and drove away.
In a few years, we’ll simply look out the window and say, “Our new Tesla is here.” This is the future Tesla is building. But it’s not only Tesla building that future, it’s an entire ecosystem of companies. Last week, we shared our evolving view on Tesla, and this week, it’s Uber.
Uber is firing on all cylinders and is in a strong position to benefit from the future of autonomy. Dara Khosrowshahi did exactly what he needed to do, he fragmented the market on both the demand side and the supply side.
He invested in autonomous vehicle companies, secured agreements to operate those vehicles on the Uber network, and locked-in fleet management deals.
What Uber has built for autonomy isn’t fully appreciated by the market. But we appreciate it. We ignored the noise, did our own independent research, and took the time to analyze Uber’s strategy. To Mr. Khosrowshahi and the entire Uber team, we say, job well done, but the hard work is merely just beginning.
Uber is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the software platforms category.
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What’s Moving the Markets
Tesla Launches Robotaxi in Austin
Tesla made history when they launched Robotaxi on June 22nd in Austin. While the launch has been heavily scrutinized, the reality is undeniable, Tesla launched a robotaxi service with no safety driver behind the wheel.
Yes, there was a safety attendant in the vehicle, but no one occupied the driver’s seat. Over the coming weeks and months, we fully expect Tesla to address the widely reported kinks in the system, and we are reserving judgment on the current state of Robotaxi operations until we experience it firsthand.
Looking at the launch from a market perspective is different, as we have data to analyze. This marks the first time Waymo has had a true competitor since Cruise shut down operations in October 2023.
For the last 20 months, Waymo has operated without a viable competitor. Now this has changed, and this time, it’s different. Tesla has Elon Musk, an individual unafraid to push boundaries and unwilling to back down from controversy, whether justified or not.
Waymo, the de facto leader in robotaxis today, faces a myriad of issues including an evolving identity crisis. Who does Waymo want to be in 24 months? What does Alphabet want Waymo to be? Does Waymo even want to be in the robotaxi business
Yes, you read that correctly. We simply don’t know. There are no clear indications of Alphabet’s long-term plans for Waymo. By contrast, with Tesla, it’s clear where they’re headed, and they aren’t grappling with the same identity crisis. The market knows that and it knows what Tesla ultimately wants to become as a company. Mr. Musk has bet the company’s future on autonomy, and now he’s delivering.
The launch of Robotaxi is the next step after FSD Supervised. Next comes refining the system and scaling, followed by FSD Unsupervised. As things stand right now, the next 12 months are shaping up to be one of the most interesting periods in the robotaxi market since the early 2020s.
Our take: First a couple of dozen vehicles, next a couple of hundred vehicles and then a couple of thousand.
Tesla is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the personally owned autonomous vehicle category.
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Piquing Our Interest
Dedicated Uber Robotaxi Tier is Coming Consumers want a dedicated robotaxi tier in the Uber app, and we’ve been advocating for one on Autonomy Markets ever since Waymo first launched on Uber. Now it’s confirmed. In response to one of our posts on X, Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s COO, wrote: “We are looking at the best way to do this, consumers definitely want it!”
Is Travis Kalanick Back? According to a The New York Times report, Travis Kalanick is in talks with Uber to fund his purchase of Pony.AI’s U.S. operations. We’ve ridden in Pony.AI vehicles several times and have always come away impressed. Whether or not this deal closes, and whether or not Uber ultimately helps fund it, this is a clear sign that Mr. Kalanick wants back in autonomy.
Is Uber’s Autonomy Strategy Under Appreciated? That is what Dara Khosrowshahi seems to think. In a panel conversation with Wayve CEO Alex Kendall in London this week, Mr. Khosrowshahi said Uber is getting “zero credit” for being a major player in self-driving cars.
Waymo Opens Atlanta in Partnership with Uber This week, Waymo opened the Atlanta market to all riders through its partnership with Uber. The service covers a 65-square-mile operating area. As the service matures, we will be watching to see when service is expanded to the Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) airport.
Waymo is Driving Two Million Fully Autonomous Miles a Week Waymo continues to rack up miles and milestones. In an interview with Time, Matthew Schwall, Director of Safety and Incident Management, revealed that Waymo is now driving two million fully autonomous miles a week.
OpenAI’s Autonomous Driving Ambitions are Growing In a podcast with his brother, Sam Altman shared that OpenAI is working on an autonomous driving stack. If OpenAI eventually develops and commercializes this technology, Meta likely won’t be far behind. When that happens, we’ll officially enter the AV 2.0 era, an era that is being pioneered by both Tesla and Wayve.
Ford Explores Licensing Autonomy with Mandatory LiDAR Integration Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, has come out and stated the obvious, Ford is going to license an autonomous driving system rather than build their own in-house. However, any system the company ultimately chooses must use LiDAR.
It’s Time to Stop Pumping the Brakes on Autonomous Vehicles Senator Lummis (R-WY) continues to advocate for autonomous vehicles and the positive impact that AVs will have on the U.S. economy since introducing the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act.
📰 Before these stories were featured here, they were available on X. Follow @RoadToAutonomy today to stay up-to-date on the latest news and developments shaping the autonomy economy.
Social Buzz
From the Factory to the Front Door
On June 27th, Tesla successfully completed the world’s first fully autonomous delivery of a vehicle to a paying customer. A Tesla Model Y drove itself with no safety attendant, no safety driver, and no one in the cabin from Gigafactory Texas to the new owner’s home 30 minutes away in Austin, navigating both surface streets and highways.
This is the future of car delivery. As Tesla scales autonomous delivery, it is only a matter of time before Teslas are routinely delivered directly to customers’ homes from showrooms (subject to state regulations) across the United States, and eventually, the world.
Our take: Once again, Tesla has changed the auto industry. This time, it will be much more difficult for traditional OEMs to keep up, as a majority of them have abandoned their autonomous driving programs.
Wayve Drives Autonomously Around The Big Apple
The future of autonomy is mapless, and Wayve along with Tesla are leading the shift away from pre-mapped autonomous vehicle operations towards a future that is not constrained by maps. Evidence of both Wayve and Tesla’s ability to scale without maps continues to grow by the day, as both companies regularly release videos showcasing their vehicles driving autonomously around the world.
If you are interested in learning more about Wayve, we would recommend the following podcast; Wayve: Scaling Autonomous Vehicles Without Borders, A Conversation with Kaity Fischer, Vice President, Commercial and Operations, Wayve.
Our take: Wayve is a company with a very bright future.
Wayve is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the licensing category.
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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla’s robotaxi launch in Austin, OpenAI’s growing autonomous driving ambitions, Waymo’s future and Foxconn’s strategic partnership with Elektrobit.
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