Musk says Tesla's self-driving tests will be geofenced to ‘the safest' parts of Austin

Core Insights - Tesla is set to begin its robotaxi service trials in Austin, Texas, next month, focusing on specific areas deemed "the safest" by the company [1] - The company will implement a geofence strategy, limiting the robotaxi operations to certain locations, marking a shift from Musk's previous claims of a general-purpose self-driving solution [2][3] - Initial operations will involve around 10 Model Y SUVs equipped with "unsupervised" Full Self-Driving software, monitored remotely by Tesla employees [4] Group 1 - The robotaxi service will initially be restricted to specific safe areas in Austin, Texas [1] - Tesla's approach includes a geofence, indicating a significant change in strategy from earlier claims of universal self-driving capabilities [2] - The company plans to monitor the initial fleet remotely, starting with a small number of vehicles to ensure safety before scaling up [4] Group 2 - Musk emphasized a cautious approach, stating that the vehicles will avoid intersections unless there is high confidence in their performance [2] - The use of remote monitoring aligns with practices seen in other autonomous vehicle companies, such as Waymo, which also employs operational centers for oversight [5]