a small group of invited analysts, influencers and shareholders were shown participating in paid rides. The small number of vehicles deployed had a human safety operator in the passenger seat, according to 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.

Musk congratulated Tesla's artificial intelligence and chip design teams on the launch in a post on X, writing that it was "culmination of a decade of hard work". "Both the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla," he added. Ahead of last Sunday's pilot, he said in a jokey post that customers would pay "a $4.20 flat fee" for rides in Tesla robotaxis. The small fleet of vehicles do not yet include the Cybercab - the futuristic car concept unveiled by Musk at Tesla's "We, Robot" event in October - which Musk says will be the company's driverless taxi in the future. Instead, it was existing Tesla vehicles, with a small "robotaxi" logo on the side, that took to Austin streets on Sunday.

Forrester analyst Paul Miller described the launch of the pilot as a "low-key affair". "As expected, only a handful of vehicles are available right now, they only operate in a small part of the city and there's a safety driver in the vehicle in case it encounters situations it cannot handle autonomously," he said. But he added that the move highlighted the company's ambitions to rival firms already offering driverless ride-hailing in the US and around the world.

Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, along with Amazon's Zoox, already offer self-driving taxi rides in Austin, as well as in San Francisco, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. Meanwhile Uber, which recently announced it would bring forward trials of driverless taxis in the UK, has partnered with Chinese firms Pony.AI, WeRide and Momenta to bring autonomous ride-hailing to more cities outside the US and China. (BBC/ Reuters)