Texas has for years had loose rules and oversight around autonomous vehicle operations, making it an attractive place for tech developers to test and launch. “We believe that this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations,” the lawmakers wrote. If Tesla chose to go ahead with the scheduled June 22 launch, the lawmakers requested "detailed information" about how Tesla will comply with the new law. Eckhardt, the first to sign the letter, hasn’t heard from Tesla since, even after the company launched its service Sunday. Still, Eckhardt credits the lawmakers’ pressure for Tesla’s decision to leave a human monitor in the front passenger seat of each robotaxi.