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

Musk mentioned on his social media platform, X, that the date might change because Tesla is being extremely cautious about safety.

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

Last month, Musk told CNBC that the self-driving taxis would initially be watched remotely and limited to specific safe areas of the city. He explained that he planned to start with about ten taxis, quickly increase that number, and then offer the service in cities like Los Angeles, San Antonio, and San Francisco.

For the last ten years, Musk has often said that fully self-driving cars would be available "next year." However, with Tesla starting its self-driving taxi service, the situation is more critical. This is especially true because the company is facing lower sales of its electric vehicles, which is due to more competition, changes to its most popular car, the Model Y, and the effects of Musk becoming more involved in politics.

The Austin launch happened after a big public argument between Musk and then-President Trump about the government's tax law. Because of this, some experts are worried that Trump might get back at Musk by telling federal safety regulators to get involved if there's any small problem with the robotaxis.