Tesla is preparing to remove human safety monitors from its robotaxi fleet in Austin, a move the company says will shift the service toward fully driverless operation by the end of the year.
The change affects Tesla’s expanding ride-hail program in the city, where vehicles currently operate with onboard attendants who can intervene if needed.
The company’s plan follows months of testing on Austin streets and comes as Tesla ramps up deployment of its autonomous software. State filings show the ride-hail fleet has grown in size through 2025, even as several crashes involving test vehicles prompted additional scrutiny of Tesla’s safety procedures.
Removing monitors would place Tesla among a small group of companies operating fully driverless services in U.S. cities. The company has not released a specific timeline for when vehicles will transition to unsupervised operation but has confirmed the goal of reaching that milestone before year’s end.
Tesla says it will continue coordinating with state and local officials as the robotaxi fleet evolves. Regulators will still require crash reporting and data submissions as the company advances its autonomous driving technology.
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