In ramping up robotaxi service, Tesla is hoping to slingshot past Waymo, another autonomous car service that operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, according to its website. Last week, Waymo applied for a permit to test its vehicles in New York City.

Tesla will launch its robotaxi service in Austin on 22 June with 10 cars, despite calls from Texas lawmakers to delay until September.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said public rides of his company’s first robotaxi might be available as early as June 22 in the city of Austin, Texas. Musk said on his social media platform X that the date could shift because the company is “being super paranoid about safety.