--- title: "You Are Completely Unprepared for What Tesla’s Robotaxi Actually Looks Like" description: "We've finally gotten a glimpse of a Tesla robotaxi in action, and it ain't exactly the most shocking thing in the world." date: "2025-06-10" modified: "2025-06-10" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/unprepared-robotaxi-looks-like" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybercab" - "robotaxis" - "Self-driving cars" - "tesla" --- # You Are Completely Unprepared for What Tesla’s Robotaxi Actually Looks Like ![We've finally gotten a glimpse of a Tesla robotaxi in action, and it ain't exactly the most shocking thing in the world.]() *TOPSHOT - Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House March 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images\* We've finally gotten a glimpse at one of Tesla's Robotaxis in action. But don't expect your socks to be blown off. As seen in a bystander's footage taken in Austin, Texas, that Elon Musk has proudly [reshared](), it's literally just a black Model Y with the word "Robotaxi" scrawled on the side in a painfully outdated graffiti font. The future is truly upon us. "Beautifully simple design," Musk [tweeted](), presumably through a pained grimace. https://twitter.com/SawyerMerritt/status/1932478438775902575? To be clear, this isn't the Cybercab, Tesla's currently in-development car that's supposed to function exclusively as an autonomous taxi, with an extremely boneheaded design that features only two seats and no steering wheel. What we're seeing, instead, is a regular Tesla with a software update (and a mid-life crisis design flourish.) "These are unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory," Musk explained in a followup [tweet](), "meaning that every Tesla coming out of our factories is capable of unsupervised self-driving!" The self-driving cabs are right around the corner. According to a [*Bloomberg* ]()[report]() last month, Tesla plans to launch its Robotaxi service in Austin on June 12, with development reportedly ahead of schedule. Around the time of the reporting, Musk confirmed in a tweet that the automaker had completed its first test of operating a Robotaxi with no human behind the wheel on a public road. In the recent footage, there was no driver physically present, either. The cab service will start with about 10 vehicles operating in the city, [according to Musk](). At first, only Tesla employees will be allowed to ride in them. But Musk insisted that the service will quickly expand, if all goes to plan. In one of his[ trademark grand promises](), the billionaire [estimated ]()that the city would be crawling with over 1,000 Tesla robotaxis "within a few months" of launching, and upped the ante further by adding that more than a million self-driving cars would be roaming American roads by the end of 2026. There are still huge question marks hovering over the entire thing. Tesla's current self-driving offerings, like its [misleadingly named]() Full Self-Driving feature, are considered to have Level 2 autonomy. That means a human driver must be physically present and ready to take control at any moment. But Robotaxis will need to operate at Level 4 autonomy and higher, which entails they're capable of driving with no human present, though only in limited conditions. That's a concerning leap, as Tesla's safety record with its existing FSD is [already questionable](), and it's yet to demonstrate that it can even accomplish Level 3. The choice of location explains a lot. Texas [virtually has no special regulations in place]() for autonomous vehicles. A prospective Robotaxi basically just has to follow the same safety requirements as any other car, along with having cameras and other data recording systems installed. And due to a 2017 Texas law, cities can't intervene by imposing their own regulations, leaving everything handled by the state. At this stage, it's also [unclear how Tesla plans to teleoperate the vehicles](), a term that describes the use of humans to remotely supervise or even completely control the Robotaxis as they prowl public roads — something that Tesla's competitors in the space also do, though they try to avoid talking about. Tesla has put up listings for developing a teleoperation system — but, perhaps tellingly, has avoided providing any further details. **More on Tesla:** *[Cybertruck Sales Are So Bad That We Gasped]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()