Tesla has begun to trial its driverless “robotaxis” on the streets of Austin, Texas.

The company has posted a series of videos showing invited guests taking rides in the vehicles.

The BBC reports analysts said the “low-key” robotaxi launch highlights Tesla’s “big bid” to compete with existing self-driving taxi operators in the US and China, as the sector grows.

Writing on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk congratulated the team saying: “Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!! Culmination of a decade of hard work. Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.”

(Picture – Tesla)