Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, recently weighed in on a video circulating online that features a Tesla Model Y clearly labeled “Robotaxi” driving autonomously through Austin, Texas. The video, which gained significant attention, shows the car executing a left-hand turn with seemingly no one in the driver's seat. Musk praised the video, re-sharing it and commenting, “Beautifully simple design,” while clarifying that the displayed Model Y units are unmodified vehicles directly from the factory, capable of unsupervised self-driving. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's VP of Autopilot and AI, also shared the video, hinting at a gradual rollout with the comment, “slowly slowly at first, then …” According to the city of Austin's Department of Motor Vehicles website, Tesla is now listed as an autonomous vehicle operator in the “testing” phase. This places Tesla alongside several other automakers in the same category, though Waymo is already marked as being in the “deployment” phase. The emergence of the video comes at a time when Tesla is poised to launch its robotaxi service, as Musk had previously indicated in June. He outlined a phased approach during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call in January, emphasizing safety as the top priority. In May, Musk specified the initial rollout would involve about 10 vehicles in the first week, gradually increasing to 20, 30, or 40, and eventually scaling up to thousands within a few months. He also mentioned plans to expand the service to other cities, including San Francisco, though a detailed timeline for this expansion remains undisclosed. Musk provided additional details on Tuesday, noting that the robotaxis are currently running a new software version. He mentioned that the company is developing an even more advanced model in the alpha stage, which has approximately four times the parameters but still needs refinement. Musk predicts this advanced model will be ready for deployment in the next few months. Industry analysts have mixed opinions about Tesla’s robotaxi initiative. CFRA Research’s VP and senior equity analyst, Garrett Nelson, expects the initial launch to be relatively low-key, with about a dozen driverless Model Ys operating in a geofenced area of Austin, supervised remotely. Nelson emphasized the importance of monitoring the number of incidents and interventions recorded by the vehicles in the coming months. He believes the true measure of success will be how quickly Tesla can reduce remote supervision and expand the service beyond Austin to other markets. Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar, views the June launch as part of Tesla’s testing phase and cautions that widespread availability of the robotaxi service could take a few years. While he sees minimal impact by 2025, Goldstein is more optimistic for 2028, predicting Tesla will gain a solid foothold and rapidly scale the service. Tesla, founded in 2003, is known for pioneering electric vehicles and advancing self-driving technology. The company's commitment to safety and gradual rollout strategies reflects a cautious yet ambitious approach to introducing revolutionary technologies to the market. As the robotaxi service begins to take shape, it will be closely watched by both enthusiasts and critics alike.