Tesla Shares Robotaxi Details: 10-20 Cars at Launch, Vehicle UI and App Teased

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Tesla’s long-awaited ambitions for a fully autonomous Robotaxi network powered by the futuristic, control-less Cybercab have finally started to take shape.

During their Q1 2025 earnings call, Tesla shared new details about its Robotaxi network, including that the network will start with new Model Ys. The Cybercab will join the network in 2026.

Robotaxi Plans

Tesla confirmed during the Earnings Call that it is on track to conduct the pilot launch of its Robotaxi network in Austin in June 2025. The first vehicles deployed for this service won’t be Cybercabs, as production for those is still in the prototyping stage.

However, Tesla did outline part of their plan for the Robotaxi network rollout. The initial aim is to begin driverless operations in Austin and then expand the service to other cities within the United States by the end of 2025. Interestingly, Tesla is also testing in California - albeit with safety drivers at this time.

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Looking further ahead, there are ambitious plans to ramp up operations to have millions of vehicles operating autonomously within the network by the end of 2026. While substantial revenue generation won’t be immediate, Tesla anticipates that the Robotaxi network will start to “meaningfully move the financial needle” in the second half of 2026.

Tesla also highlighted the current real-world benefits that FSD is already offering today—and will be able to offer to many more people in the near future.

These include reducing effort and time spent on daily commuting or transit, as well as improving mobility for customers with disabilities. Tesla plans to emphasize some of these community stories and wants to highlight the advantages and capabilities of FSD to improve people’s lives.

Robotaxi App and Robotaxi Vehicle UI

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After the call, Tesla AI also shared a video showcasing the Robotaxi interface in the Tesla app, as well as some footage that included the in-vehicle UI, at least as it currently stands.

The video shows Tesla employees using and testing Robotaxi features, although there are safety drivers in place. It looks like there is already a set of well-integrated UI mechanisms for both the front and rear screen when in Robotaxi mode.

Tesla is testing this today, and this network has already completed 1,500 trips, totaling approximately 15,000 miles. The system is being tested for vehicle allocation, mission control, and remote assistance operations.

Remote Operators

Inevitably, edge cases or unique situations will come up, and they will be difficult to handle. For these cases, where a Robotaxi vehicle gets stuck or requires assistance, Tesla will likely implement remote support. 

While they didn’t completely confirm remote support operators on the Earnings Call, Tesla has previously posted positions for Teleoperator Engineers for Robotaxi, and an AI T=team member posted on LinkedIn about testing for remote assistance operations.

Scaling Up

Tesla initially intends to deploy a relatively small fleet in Austin, with its pilot beginning with about 10 to 20 vehicles on day 1. They will scale up gradually as the systems are validated and operations are refined, and the target is for anyone visiting Austin to be able to hail a robotaxi by the end of June or early July 2025.

Scaling Out

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Tesla’s confidence in scaling out stems from its generalized approach with FSD. The team believes that once FSD is thoroughly verified and capable in a few diverse North American cities, deploying it to any other North American city should be technically feasible. After all, driving regulations don’t vary much from one major city to another, except for things like no right turns on red lights. 

The primary limitation with scaling out geographically is expected to be securing regulatory approvals in different regions and jurisdictions. While the principles of Tesla’s FSD are expected to apply globally, as with the China rollout, regulation will continue to be a considerable hurdle.

Cybercab

FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area.

We've completed over 1.5k trips & 15k miles of driving.

This service helps us develop & validate FSD networks, the mobile app, vehicle allocation, mission control &… pic.twitter.com/pYVfhi935W

— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) April 23, 2025

Tesla’s fully autonomous, two-seater vehicle, the Cybercab, is also being developed. While volume production for the Cybercab won’t begin until 2026, Tesla is already undergoing sample production validation. The first actual Cybercab builds are expected to be completed near the end of Q2 2025, and we’re excited to see if anything changes from the prototypes shown at We, Robot.

Tesla intends to build Cybercab at Giga Texas, and the production line is on schedule, according to Tesla. Cybercab production will not require a new building and will be built inside the existing Giga Texas factory.

Unboxed Method

Tesla's Shareholder Deck for Q1 2025 is now out, and we're 40 minutes away from the Earnings Call.

It seems Tesla won't be using the unboxed process for its more affordable model - which is a new vehicle.

Instead, they plan to use it for Cybercab soon! pic.twitter.com/0yddfWieJQ

— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) April 22, 2025

The Cybercab’s production and low-cost methodology heavily rely upon Tesla’s innovative new unboxed manufacturing method. Tesla’s executive team mentioned that progress and implementation with this new manufacturing solution was going well, and it will be key to lowering the cost of production while considerably raising the level of automation.

Tesla has already achieved key milestones with this method, including successfully integrating large sub-assemblies and resolving challenges related to connecting portions of the vehicle's ceiling during the process. They have also successfully completed corrosion testing related to the new assembly method, as well as begun initial crash testing for the Cybercab.

All of that and more will eventually be incorporated into other vehicle production lines, and the Cybertruck is already benefiting from some aspects of these developments. With a final ambition of achieving a 5-second cycle time per Cybercab, Tesla has come a long way—but it still has quite a bit to go. They’ve managed to meet a 33-second cycle time for the Model Y at Giga Shanghai between two production lines, but 5 seconds per vehicle is quite ambitious.

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With all that said, between Robotaxi and Cybercab, there is a lot of interesting news coming from Tesla. We expect this to continue throughout the year as Tesla launches its network and then aims to release FSD Unsupervised to customers, with a potential price increase.

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Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

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The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied. 

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx

— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.

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Tesla Launches 'TeslaVision' Contest With Big Prizes — See Last Year’s Winner [VIDEO]

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Tesla’s marketing has always been relatively unconventional, relying on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising. The passion of the owner’s community is always massive, but it is especially high now with the launch of the Robotaxi network just around the corner.

Tesla is now tapping into that spring of fan creativity and announced the TeslaVision video contest, with some seriously impressive prizes up for grabs.

Announcing the TeslaVision fan video showcase

Tesla owners & supporters have always been able to see our products & mission for what they truly are.

Your word of mouth has made Tesla what it is today.

The OGs will remember that in 2017, we held our first video contest. 8 years… pic.twitter.com/6pPpkqmqOH

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 10, 2025

The Contest

The core of the contest is simple. Create a video that shows how your Tesla gives you more in life. Tesla is looking for submissions that highlight themes of freedom, safety, fun, and convenience.

Prizes

The prizes definitely make this contest worth entering if you’re good with a camera and have some basic video editing abilities.

For North America, the prizes include a brand new Model Y AWD Long Range, alongside an all-expenses-paid trip to Austin for a tour of Giga Texas. The grand prize winner will also be able to custom order their Model Y, allowing them to select their preferred wheels and color.

The two runners-up won’t get a Model Y, but they’ll also enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Giga Texas for a tour of the factory.

The travel and tour include lodging in Austin for 2 nights, as well as economy-class round-trip tickets from anywhere in North America. Tesla will also provide a vehicle for use during the trip.

Hopefully, these winners will also have the opportunity to experience the Robotaxi network while they’re in Austin, as it’s expected to be opened to the public later this month.

Project Loveday

For long-time followers of Tesla, this contest may feel familiar. The contest is a direct throwback to the 2017 Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a letter to Tesla from a 10-year-old aspiring marketer. That contest was won by MKBHD, with his submission below:

How to Enter

If you’re ready to start filming, here are the key pieces of information you’ll need to know:

• Video must be 90 seconds or less

• Video must be uploaded to YouTube with a public URL

• Make a post on X and Instagram tagging “@Tesla” and include the words “TeslaVision contest” in the post.

• Provide links to both social media posts in your submission to Tesla’s form

• Provide your personal details in the form

• You have until July 17th, 2025, or until Tesla receives 10,000 entries, whichever comes first.

You can find the official submission form and all region-specific details on Tesla's website.

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