Tesla (TSLA, Financial) has penciled in June 12 as the tentative debut for its robotaxi service in Austin, marking a major step toward autonomous ride-hailing.
This week, Tesla ran a test Model Y SUV on public roads in Austin—with no one in the driver's seat and an engineer riding shotgun—to validate its new Full Self-Driving “FSD Unsupervised” software ahead of launch.
The rollout will begin with a small, geofenced fleet of 10–20 vehicles in select low-risk zones, allowing Tesla to monitor performance closely before scaling up. Management aims to expand that fleet to as many as 1,000 cars within months and eventually introduce the service in Los Angeles and San Francisco, using existing models before transitioning to the purpose-built Cybercab in 2026.
Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk is stepping down as senior adviser to President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he announced on X. Musk, who led DOGE since January to streamline federal operations, thanked Trump for the opportunity, noting “the @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time.”
His exit follows his critique of Trump's “big, beautiful” budget bill—comments set to air June 1 on CBS Sunday Morning—and refocuses his attention squarely on Tesla's next-generation projects.
Investors should care because a smooth Austin launch could counteract a likely soft Q2 delivery report and kick-start earnings upside tied to a scaled robotaxi fleet.
With the June 12 launch date looming, markets will be watching both the service's initial safety record and Musk's pivot back to Tesla innovation.
