Elon Musk has indicated a provisional launch date of June 22nd for Tesla's robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.

In a post on his X social media platform, Musk stated that the planned date might change because Tesla is being extremely careful about safety.

Investors, Wall Street analysts, and Tesla fans have been eagerly awaiting the introduction of Tesla's self-driving taxis, especially since Musk announced earlier this year that the service would start in Austin sometime in June.

In a recent CNBC interview, Musk explained his initial plan for the self-driving taxis, stating that they would first be watched remotely and restricted to specific safe areas of the city. He mentioned starting with about ten vehicles, then quickly increasing that number, and launching the service in cities like Los Angeles, San Antonio, and San Francisco, among others.

For ten years, Musk has been promising that fully self-driving cars would be available "next year." However, the pressure is now much greater because Tesla has started a self-driving taxi service. This comes at a time when sales of Tesla's electric cars have decreased due to more competition, changes to its popular Model Y car, and the negative effects of Musk's involvement in politics.

The Austin launch happened after Musk had a big public disagreement with then-President Trump about the government's tax law. Because of this, some experts are worried that Trump might get back at him by asking federal safety regulators to get involved if there are any early problems with the robotaxi project.