(Reuters) – Electric car maker Tesla started a trial of its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, the first step toward what could be a showdown with Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Waymo, the only player currently offering fully autonomous paid rides in the United States.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has started off with about 10 Model Ys and promised to focus on safety. He says Tesla could scale quickly, and he plans a separate robotaxi vehicle.
Social media influencers were seen booking and taking rides in the robotaxis in several Austin locations on Sunday, according to videos reposted by Musk.
Here is how Tesla’s cybercab efforts compare with those of Waymo and Amazon.com-owned Zoox, which is preparing its own commercial launch:
LOCATIONS

Feature
|
Waymo
|
Tesla
|
Zoox
|
Vehicle Type
|
Jaguar I-Pace
|
Model Y
|
Custom built bidirectional pod
|
Steering wheel
|
Yes
|
Yes in current test
|
No
|
Autonomous technology
|
LiDAR, cameras, radars
|
Cameras
|
LiDAR, cameras, radars
|
Autonomy level
|
Level 4 – autonomous within limits
|
Testing Level 4
|
Testing Level 4
|
Launch of paid service
|
2018
|
2025
|
Expected later in 2025
|
Teleoperation – human guidance or control
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Rides/vehicles
|
More than 250,000 rides a week
|
About 10 vehicles
|
More than 20 vehicles in testing phase
|
Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese