After rocky global sales figures, Tesla could use a win. And the self-driving Robotaxi service may have just handed the EV automaker a big one. Following a few hiccups on video, Tesla enthusiasts took to social media to tout the rollout as a wild success. 

Tesla limited the Austin launch of its Robotaxi service to a select few, and the feedback is glowing

Tesla recently launched its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, with a limited rollout for a select few riders. But the Robotaxis weren’t the Cybertruck-esque two-seater cabs that CEO Elon Musk unveiled last year. Instead, the rollout used specially-equipped Model Ys with Full Self-Driving (FSD). 

Of course, Tesla took great care in choosing who they allowed to try the first $4.20 flat-rate rides. Seemingly every participant is a Tesla owner, investor, or influencer. And the feedback is positive, to say the least.

“As a Tesla owner and regular FSD user, I was not surprised by how well the system worked and how comfortable it felt,” X user Farzad said in a review post. “Still, I was completely mind blown that the same car I can buy today starting at around $38k– which also happens to be the best-selling car in the world– just did paid driverless rides around Austin, TX without someone behind the steering wheel and pedal. The implications from this are far-reaching and very disruptive. This breaks transportation.” 

Farzad wasn’t the only one. “[The] Robotaxi slows down really nice for speed bumps. Extremely smooth stops as well,” X user Zack said with a video attachment of a self-driving Robotaxi making turns and slowing down. Others insisted on Elon Musk-focused flattery. “We need to get Elon his next Tesla compensation package,” Sawyer Merritt wrote on X after riding in a Tesla Robotaxi in Austin.

The praise seemed glowing despite the social media videos of the early Model Y-based Robotaxis driving the wrong way and breaking traffic laws. For instance, while one of the event invitees captured a video of a Robotaxi pulling over for an Austin-area ambulance, another video captured one of the self-driving cabs stopping in the middle of the road for a police car parked in a lot nearby, not even in its direct path.