Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company’s Robotaxi program would open to the public in September, but there is one big bottleneck that would inhibit it from launching smoothly.
The thing is, it can be resolved in no time, and Tesla can fix it internally.
In Austin, the Robotaxi platform has been in operation since late June. The launch of the program only allowed a handful of privileged influencers and groups to access the driverless ride-hailing service, although it has expanded this group on several occasions.
It has also slowly added vehicles to the fleet, starting at 11 cars when it launched in June. There have been a few cars added, but Tesla has continued to prioritize safety, keeping its rider population and number of vehicles low for the time being.
However, this is going to cause quite a bit of a bottleneck in next month’s planned public launch, as there will be an open invitation for anyone and everyone to test out the Robotaxi platform in Austin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when
Many people have been waiting for an invitation to ride in a Robotaxi, and Tesla has not been prone to give one to just anybody.
As that becomes a much larger number next month, Tesla is going to have to step up its Robotaxi fleet number, as well as its population of Safety Monitors, the riders that sit in the passenger seat to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Tesla is going to need to add A LOT more cars if they want to be able to meet the demand, otherwise rides will be unavailable to most.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 11, 2025
While the geofence in Austin has roughly doubled in size twice during both of Tesla’s expansions of the service area, the company is still playing it safe with rider population growth, something that aligns with its focus on safety.
Musk said recently about the expansion of Robotaxi to customer-owned vehicles:
“As I said, we’re being paranoid about safety. But I guess next year is I’d say confidently next year. I’m not sure when next year, but confidently next year, people would be able to add or subtract their car to the Tesla, Inc. fleet.”
The Robotaxi fleet will, without a doubt, revolutionize the way people view ride-hailing. Tesla seems ready to open it up to the public next month, based on what Musk said, but some changes will have to occur to ensure it goes smoothly.