CNBC traveled to Austin, Texas, and drove around in a Tesla Model 3 to witness the supervised, invite-only launch of not more than 20 of Tesla‘s long awaited robotaxis. Nearly a decade ago, CEO Elon Musk promised Tesla would be able to drive themselves and owners would be able to rent out their vehicles for rideshare, even while they slept. Tesla's very limited launch starting June 22 was not without incident, and Tesla’s plan still has lots of skeptics and critics. But some truly believe in the company and in Musk.

4:31 Clarification: Ed Niedermeyer is referring to Tesla using Lidar on its cars during testing, not on the public robotaxis in Austin, Texas.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:19 Tesla’s robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas

Produced and Shot by: Katie Tarasov
Reporting by: Robert Ferris
Edited by: Matthew Soto
Additional Camera: Todd Wiseman, Jordan Vonderhaar
Editorial Support: Lora Kolodny
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Animation: Emily Park

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We Went To Austin For Tesla's Robotaxi Launch. Here's What Happened