Driving taxis in Austin: Tesla starts Revolution on the streets!

Driving taxis in Austin: Tesla starts Revolution on the streets!

on Sunday, June 23, 2025, Tesla announced the start of driverless taxis in Austin, Texas. These so -called robotaxis are offered for a flat fee of $ 4.20. The first driverless Teslas were already spotted in the South Congress district, but exclusively under the supervision of a so -called "security monitor", which takes a seat in the passenger seat. It remains unclear what control this person has over the vehicle while Tesla is planning to use around ten vehicles in areas considered safe. The prerequisites are that poor weather conditions and difficult crossings are avoided not to endanger the safety of passengers.

In addition, it should be noted that people under the age of 18 are not approved as passengers. It is noteworthy that Tesla only uses cameras for road recognition. This stands out from competitors who fall back on technologies such as lidar and radar systems. Although the legal basis for the operation of autonomous vehicles in Texas is relatively new, the requirements are considered less strict compared to other states such as California, where comprehensive vehicle tests are required.

regulations and permits

Before the start of the robotaxis, the state of Texas issued new regulations that prescribe state approval for the operation of self -driving vehicles. Governor Greg Abbott signed a corresponding law on September 1, which is intended to signal a careful procedure. Before admitting your vehicle, operators must ensure that this information is available to explain how police and rescue workers can handle the driverless vehicles in emergency situations. The authorities also have the authority to revoke permits if a driverless vehicle endangers the security of the public.

The expectations of Tesla, which are associated with the market assessment of around one billion dollar, are to a considerable part on the assumption that the company can ultimately develop both robotaxis and humanoid robots.

autonomous driving in Germany

In an international context, autonomous driving is the focus of innovative strategies. In Germany, the federal government has decided to establish a comprehensive strategy to establish the country as a leading innovation and production location for autonomous driving. Volker Wissing, the Federal Minister of Digital and Transport, emphasizes that autonomous driving will play a key role for innovative and sustainable mobility. Since 2021 there have been regulations that affect the use of autonomous vehicles on German roads, followed by numerous research projects that test these technologies.

The German strategy aims in particular on local public transport and freight transport. The use of autonomous vehicles should not only be improved efficiency and security in freight traffic, but also the quality of life of people with mobility restrictions should also be increased. In the long term, it is expected that autonomous driving could also meet the shortage of skilled workers in the transport sector.

Overall, it can be seen that the development of autonomous vehicles, both in the USA and Germany, is progressing rapidly and could bring considerable changes in the mobility landscape. It remains to be seen how the framework conditions will develop.

OE24 reports , Cash reports and BMV reports .