Tesla faces an existential test this month as it aims to launch self-driving “robotaxis” in its home base of Austin, Texas, where public-safety officials are increasingly concerned about the state’s anti-regulation stance toward autonomous vehicles.

The first Robotaxi Model Y operating without a person in the driver's seat was spotted on South Congress in Austin yesterday. It sported a decal on the side of the vehicle that read "Robotaxi" in the same font as Tesla ’s stylized version of Cybertruck.