Tesla's robotaxi service begins cautiously in Texas

Driving the news: A handful of social media influencers and Tesla investors were the first to ride without a driver in Tesla's taxi service, paying a flat $4.20 fee.

• A Tesla employee rode along in the front passenger seat as a precaution, although it was unclear whether the safety monitor could control the car from there.

Between the lines: The service only operates between 6 a.m. and midnight, within certain "geofenced" areas in Austin.

• It also doesn't operate in rain.
• Musk said Tesla was being "super-paranoid" about the launch but would gradually expand the service to include more cars, and a wider operating area.

The intrigue: Sharp-eyed viewers noticed in videos posted on X that the safety monitors held on to the passenger-door handle, and kept their thumb on the door-open button.

• Many online speculated that the button was a "kill switch" to stop the car in case of emergency, but Tesla didn't comment.

Reality check: Musk has huge ambitions to turn every Tesla into a robotaxi, earning money for its owner when the car isn't needed.

• But Tesla is still far behind Waymo, which launched its first driverless robotaxi rides to the public in 2020.
• Waymo has a fleet of 1,500 robotaxis in multiple states, and provides more than 250,000 paid trips per week.