The service kicked off as scheduled aboard Tesla's Model Y vehicles, with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee to ride.

The automaker deployed a small fleet of self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, marking the first time its cars have carried paying passengers without human drivers. The rides were being offered for a flat fee of $4.20 in a limited zone.

Tesla rolled out autonomous robotaxis in Austin on Sunday to a limited group of testers. CEO Elon Musk said in a post on social media platform X that customers were charged a flat fee of $4.20. The launch puts Tesla head-to-head with Alphabet-backed Waymo,