In ramping up robotaxi service, Tesla is hoping to slingshot past Waymo, another autonomous car service that operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, according to its website. Last week, Waymo applied for a permit to test its vehicles in New York City.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated on social media that the launch of the company's robotaxi service in Austin was tentatively set for this weekend. Here's what we know.

Tesla's robotaxi service is set to officially hit the road this Sunday in Austin, Texas after years of preparation. A lot is riding on this plan for Elon Musk. It will be a slow rollout with 10 to 20 vehicles out in a small testing area.

The launch of the EV maker’s robotaxi service would cap a decade of promises about autonomous vehicles by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

It wasn’t walking away from autonomy," GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said last week. "It was walking away from the robotaxi side of it.”