Tesla has begun testing its self-driving taxi in Austin, just days before its planned commercial launch on June 12.

Axar.az reports that the company first appeared in the city's registry of autonomous transport operators with the status of "test". Unlike Waymo, which has been testing for a year, it has started testing first with human observers and then without safety drivers. But it is doubtful that the service will be ready for full use this month.

As the company's owner, Elon Musk has previously said, the commercial launch of the service is planned for June. However, even he admitted that testing the system without safety drivers only began in late May, so it is unlikely that the platform will be ready for full use. For comparison, Waymo conducted tests with and without human observers for a year before opening access to the service in Austin. It is the only company that is still in the development stage.

Tesla’s move to operate its autonomous fleet is a change in strategy. The company previously promised that millions of its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) cars sold since 2016 would be self-driving. Now, Tesla is hoping for a limited fleet of cars specifically configured for Austin’s geofence and supported by remote control. The company has long avoided officially labeling its cars as fully self-driving, positioning them as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that require a human to take the controls. That allows it to sidestep the stringent requirements for testing autonomous vehicles, including reporting and licensing. In recent months, however, Tesla has been conducting regular drives with drivers in the front seat and serial numbers showing that it is conducting closed tests. Now, the company has officially appeared on the city’s list of self-driving car operators, signaling that it has entered the open testing phase. The fate of Tesla's commercial launch in Austin will depend on the speed of certification procedures and the results of ongoing testing. Despite Musk's statements, the operational timeline could be revised.