Tesla has started rolling out the first round of Robotaxi invitations

Tesla has started rolling out an initial round of invites for its upcoming Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.

The Elon Musk-led electric vehicle company is expected to roll out robotaxis in Austin, Texas, on June 22, with the first driverless trip from the factory to a customer house expected on his birthday, June 28.

Musk shared news of the tentative debut in a post on social media platform X last week.

There will be just a small number of Tesla cars debuted in Austin on June 22. The initial rides will be in the Model Y and not the CyberCab that was unveiled in October.

Access to the vehicles and rides is by invitation only. Some social media influencers have claimed early access invites to try out the new service beginning Sunday.

As noted in a techAU report, the initial round of Robotaxi service invites has gone to longtime Tesla owners and active members of the EV community. These comprise owners including @SawyerMerritt, @BLKMDL3, @WholeMarsBlog, @ItsKimjava, and @HerbertOng.

From Tesla's letter, it seems that for now involvement in the service would be strictly invite-only. Participants must also download Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi App to hail a ride. Rides can also be requested and initiated to and from any location within a geofenced area of Austin.

The robotaxi service will be available from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, seven days a week, though these hours may change depending on factors such as inclement weather. Interestingly enough, Tesla is inviting the first participants of the Robotaxi program to share photos and videos of their experience with the service.

While the vehicles themselves are autonomous and would operate without human input, the Robotaxis would still be accompanied by a Tesla staff member to monitor the vehicle. This strategy suggests that Tesla is really putting safety above all in its initial Robotaxi rollout.

In May, Musk confirmed plans to debut the service in Austin this month, with launches later set for Los Angeles and San Francisco.

While this represents a soft launch for Tesla’s Robotaxi service, it offers our first glimpse at what the service will be like in terms of restrictions, geo-fenced areas, price, and, of course, a look at the Robotaxi app. Like anything Tesla, they will iterate and over time enhance the app, service, and process.