Austin (Reuters) -Tesla deployed a small group of self -guided taxis taking charge of paid passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas. The general manager Elon Musk announced the “launch of the Robotaxis” and the influencers of the social media posted videos of their first journeys.

Elon Musk described this moment as a “culmination point of a hard work decade” in a message published on his social media platform X and said that “the teams responsible for artificial intelligence fleas and software was created from zero within Tesla.”

Teslas were seen early Sunday in a district called South Congress, without anyone in the driver’s seat, but with a person in the passenger seat. The automaker has planned a small test with a dozen vehicles and front passengers playing the role of “safety monitors”, although it is not clear to what extent they control the vehicles.

In recent days, the car manufacturer has sent invitations to a selected group of influencers for a Robotaxi test carefully controlled in a limited area. The journeys are offered for a lump sum of $ 4.20, said Elon Musk on X.

Tesla’s investor and social media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X Sunday afternoon showing him, (link) to get caught (link) and go to a neighboring bar and restaurant, Frazier’s Long and Low, using Tesla’s Robotaxi application.

If Tesla succeeds in this little deployment, she still has to keep Elon Musk’s promises to quickly go to the scale (link) in Austin and other cities, according to industry experts.

According to Philip Koopman, professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in autonomous vehicle technology, it will take years, even decades, so that Tesla and its rivals in terms of autonomous driving, such as Alphabet Waymo (), fully develop the Robotaxi industry. According to him, a successful test from Tesla to Austin would be “the end of the beginning and not the beginning of the end.”

According to numerous analysts in the sector, most of Tesla’s market value, which has reached heights (link), is based today on its ability to provide Robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla is by far the most rated car manufacturer in the world.

As the Tesla Robotaxis launch date approaches, Texan legislators have decided to adopt rules on autonomous vehicles. The Governor of Texas, the Republican Greg Abbott, signed a law requiring a state permit on Friday for the driving of autonomous vehicles.

This law, which will come into force on September 1, indicates that state representatives, whatever their party, want the driver -free vehicle industry to be cautious.

Tesla did not respond to requests for comments. The Governor’s office refused to comment.

The law softens the previous anti-regulation position of the State on autonomous vehicles (link). A 2017 Texan law specifically prohibited cities from regulating autonomous cars.

The new law requires that operators of autonomous vehicles obtain the approval of the Department of Motorized Vehicles of Texas before circulating on public roads without human driver. It gives state authorities the power to withdraw the permits to the operators they consider to be a public danger.

The law also requires companies to provide information on how the first stakeholders can manage their driver -free vehicles in emergency situations.

The requirements of the law in terms of permit for an “automated motorized vehicle” are not expensive, but they oblige companies to attest that their vehicles can operate legally and safely. The law defines an automated vehicle as having at least an autonomous driving capacity of “level 4” according to a recognized standard, which means that it can operate without human driver under specific conditions. Level 5 of autonomy is the highest level and means that a car can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions.

Compliance is much easier than in certain states, including California, which requires submission of vehicle test data under state control.

Bryant Walker Smith, professor of law at the University of South Carolina who focuses on autonomous driving, said that it seems that any company that fulfills the minimum application conditions will obtain a Texas permit – but that it could also lose it in the event of problems.

“Californian permits are difficult to get, easy to lose,” he said. “In Texas, the permit is easy to get and easy to lose.”

Elon Musk’s commitments in terms of security

The launch of the Robotaxis Tesla comes after more than a decade of promises not run by Elon Musk to deliver self -piloted teslas.

Elon Musk said Tesla would be “super paranoid” with regard to the safety of Robotaxis in Austin, including operating in limited areas.

The service in Austin will also be subject to other restrictions. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not transport anyone under the age of 18.

The marketing of autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. The Cruise de GM project was arrested after a serious accident. The regulators closely monitor Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Zoox from Amazon.

Tesla also goes against the standard practice of young industry which consists in relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. According to Elon Musk, this method will be safe and much less expensive than Lidar and Radar systems added by its rivals.

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