A Tesla Model Y fitted with cage-like additional equipment on the roof was caught on camera recently in downtown Austin, Texas, indicating that Tesla will soon join the ride-hailing business. This sighting comes amid Tesla’s ramp-up towards the planned launch of the robotaxi service in the city by June 2025 and is a big step towards completely autonomous transport.
Surprisingly, a Model Y with a clear LiDAR sensor fixed on its roof rack has recently been seen near Giga Texas. Besides this, more interestingly, a change in the design that is not quite apparent has also been witnessed: a hidden camera is located just above the bumper line in the shadow.
Project Rodeo: Tesla’s Autonomous Ambitions
Known internally as “Project Rodeo,” Tesla plans to use about ten to twenty Model Y cars fitted with its Full Self-Driving, or FSD, software. These are still in testing phases, and approximately 300 testing drivers are using them daily on the streets of the city of Austin. The company also continues organizational training for the first responders and creates remote operating teams to manage the fleet.
Currently, Tesla has no LiDAR sensors installed in any of its vehicles to enhance self-driving and relies on the vision camera only. Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, has put much emphasis on this point, also noting that this method is less costly and closely resembles human driving. He said that you can sleep and wake at your destination.
SPOTTED: Tesla testing with a New Model Y with headgear in downtown Austin Texas for Cybercab Robotaxi!
$TSLA pic.twitter.com/cGFhFewCwk
— JoshWest247
(@JoshWest247) March 12, 2025
Regulatory Landscape and Safety Measures
Albeit enabling AV tests throughout the state so long as they meet basic safety and insurance guidelines, several officials in Austin have been cautious. The self-driving car working committee for the city’s transport has been in touch with Tesla since May 2024 to monitor such technologies. It is the responsibility of the task force to consult with various players to develop procedures to follow in the case of incidents involving self-driving cars and to educate first responders on how to deal with them.
Despite these efforts, concerns persist. Since July 2023, there have been 78 officially documented complaints regarding self-driving cars in Austin, for instance, which shows that it is not easy to integrate such technologies into a city. Learn more about Tesla Leads in Deadly Accidents among car brands.
Competitive Landscape
The move threatens other companies involved in the robotaxi business, such as Waymo, which already has 700 fully self-driving taxis in several cities within the U.S., including Austin. Waymo’s self-driving cars use cameras and LiDAR sensors to perceive the vehicle’s surroundings.
There is now competition with Waymo from Uber to develop self-driving transportation for taxi pick-up and drop-off services in Austin. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that he was happy with Tesla’s entry into the business because there is plenty of room for players in the transportation sector.
He noted that Tesla has some of the best cars on the road and its Full Self-Driving capability, where drivers need to take over from the car sometimes. A few months earlier in an interview with the Financial Times, Khosrowshahi admitted to the competitive pressure posed by Musk, saying the following:
“Obviously, competing with Elon Musk is no easy matter, and we take nothing for granted; we want to partner with the autonomous industry”.
