Tesla Tests Driverless Cars on Austin Public Roads

Image: Tesla

Tesla is continuing its push into fully self-driving cars and says it is already testing driverless cars on public roads in Austin, Texas. The Semi program is ramping up, and the company’s cars are getting a much-needed feature. Welcome to the weekly roundup with Jowua.

Self-Driving Teslas in Austin

While everyone is expecting the official Robotaxi launch in Austin in June, it turns out that Tesla is already testing cars without a human driver. According to Elon Musk’s statement on X, in the past few days, the company “has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.”

The CEO noted that the testing began a month earlier than previously planned. He also wrote that next month, cars built at Giga Austin will be self-delivered to customers. He likely meant that this will happen to local customers in Austin.

Tesla Cybertrucks Join Jalisco’s Police Fleet

Tesla Cybertrucks—"Black Mambas"—have joined Jalisco’s police fleet ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Mexican state is preparing to welcome millions of visitors as Guadalajara is one of three Mexican cities hosting the global event. The acquisition of the all-electric pickups underscores Jalisco’s commitment to innovation and safety.

“We also need to work a lot on the perception of security; we are going to deliver 678 patrol cars for the State Police, State Highway Police, and State Police, including some ‘Black Mambas,’ which are this kind of tanks,” Governor Pablo Lemus said.

Tesla Launches Child Left Alone Detection in Cars

The problem of children being left alone in cars is, unfortunately, not new. However, Tesla has been working on an effective solution for a long time, developing an ultra-wave sensor that could detect heartbeats rather than motion like cameras do. The company is now rolling out the feature to its cars with the 2025.14.12 software update, calling it “Child Left Alone Detection.”

The company has developed a number of warning measures to remind drivers that there is a child left in the car.

“If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle. Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla.”

Semi Frames Spotted in Nevada

Tesla is getting closer to starting mass production of its Semi trucks. The electric truck factory is located on the same site as Gigafactory Nevada, and is already nearing completion. However, the company is not wasting any time. Outside its dedicated Nevada facility, frames and other vehicle parts have been spotted piling up.

“The first builds of the high volumes in design come late this year in 2025 and begin ramping early in 2026,” according to the update from Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering.