For now, Austin serves as Tesla’s proving ground. The tech is raw, the rollout is cautious, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. If the robotaxi experiment succeeds here, the future Musk has long promised might finally arrive. If not, it’s another high-profile beta test in a long road filled with big promises—and sharp turns.

The company has begun a test run of the driverless cabs, years after CEO Elon Musk vowed they would be on the road.

Elon Musk's Tesla enters the self-driving taxi game, an industry with big names like Waymo and Zoox in the U.S.