Robotaxi launch begins in Austin today

All of the videos so far show no human in the driver's seat. There is a person in the front passenger seat who can tap three buttons on the touch screen: "Pull over", "Stop in lane", and "Support".[1]

It'll be a while before we know how good the self-driving is, but it seems like they're more confident than when Waymo started, as those used safety drivers for the first nine months (from May 2022 to December 2023), and didn't open up to the general public until June of 2024.[2] That said, downtown Austin is an easier environment to drive in than San Francisco.

1. https://x.com/DirtyTesLa/status/1936867325799739810

2. https://waymo.com/blog/2024/06/waymo-one-is-now-open-to-ever...

keep getting away with what? I've seen multiple photos and no one is in the drivers seat. They do have a person in the passenger seat. Unlike Waymo that had safety drivers for years I suspect they will remove the safety passenger after a few days.