Local Texas lawmakers could delay Musk’s robotaxi launch until September

Lawmakers from the Texas House of Representatives and Senate are trying to get Tesla to postpone its robotaxi launch and have signed a letter of request to this effect. 

The letter, which was signed on Wednesday, June 18, requests that Tesla delay its robotaxi launch until September, when new autonomous driving regulations are scheduled to go into effect.

Lawmakers express concern as they push for a delay

The regulations coming into effect in September would require autonomous cars to be registered under Texas law, meet certain safety and vehicle standards, and also be “capable of achieving a minimal risk condition if the automated driving system is rendered inoperable.”

In accordance with the regulations, companies operating autonomous vehicles would also be required to provide a First Responder Interaction Plan to the Department of Public Safety detailing how emergency personnel should interact with driverless vehicles.

The lawmakers wrote that Tesla can still go ahead with the robotaxi launch which is slated for June 22 if it responds to the letter with “detailed information demonstrating that Tesla will be compliant with the new law upon the launch of driverless operations in Austin.”

However, there is at least one person among the writers of the letter who is skeptical about Tesla’s readiness to launch. “I don’t know that it is ready to be launched,” Goodwin said of Tesla robotaxis on CBS Austin on Wednesday. “There is more work that needs to be done before they let them loose on the streets.”

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has said his company has been testing its full self-driving cars on the streets of Austin over the last month, with one driverless Tesla Model Y spotted on public roads in Austin.

Musk announced plans to launch thousands of Tesla robotaxis in Austin in May, with future plans to expand to cities like San Francisco.

However, in a safety test conducted by The Dawn Project, a known critic of Tesla’s self-driving tech, a Tesla Model Y with Full Self-Driving engaged was unable to stop in the presence of a school bus stop sign and child-sized dummy, raising concerns about how ready it is to be deployed.

Texas is attracting autonomous vehicle companies, but public safety officials are worried about oversight

As it stands, Texas has minimal regulations for autonomous vehicles, allowing operation with basic registration and insurance, which has made it an attractive hub for companies like Tesla.

If Tesla decides to push forward with the launch, it will be competing on Austin’s streets with Google’s Waymo, Amazon’s Zoox, and ventures funded by automakers VW and Hyundai.

Unfortunately, the lack of oversight has raised concerns among public safety officials, especially since Tesla has a history of unfulfilled self-driving promises and recent safety test failures.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also sent Tesla a letter in May 2025, requesting to know about how its robotaxis plan to handle collisions, poor visibility, and emergency situations.

Tesla has not publicly responded to either the lawmakers’ or NHTSA’s letters, though a response to the NHTSA’s letter was expected on June 19.

How Tesla will respond is unclear, but the request of the Democratic lawmakers is not expected to do much to stop Tesla’s progress, especially in a Republican-dominated state, where the governor and legislative majorities favor a hands-off regulatory approach to promote the autonomous vehicle industry.

To his credit, Musk is also very big on safety, noting that the company is “being super paranoid” and could shift the launch date if needed.

“We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift,” Musk wrote on X on June 10.

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