News Summary

Tesla has initiated testing of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) supervised ride-hailing service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area. This move is a precursor to the company’s planned robotaxi launch, which is scheduled for June in Austin. The FSD system allows for some automated driving tasks but still requires human oversight with a driver present. Tesla aims to roll out 10 to 20 vehicles on the first day of service in Austin. The company’s strategy mirrors practices seen in other autonomous vehicle companies, such as Waymo, which also tests services with employees before a public launch. The vehicles used in this initiative, like the Model 3 sedan, are equipped with screens for passengers, providing estimated arrival times, climate control, and an emergency stop feature. Tesla plans to eventually introduce an unsupervised version of FSD, which will be deployed to Tesla owners in various markets.