Hear this story A handpicked group of passengers invited for early rides from Tesla Inc.’s autonomous, nearly driverless ride-hailing service seemed to like it. But video some posted to social media suggests the Austin-based automaker’s system struggles to comply with traffic laws. Some passengers were wowed by the car’s ability to slow for speed bumps, an ambulance or to avoid hitting a pedestrian. One said it did just as well after sundown as during the day. Another was wild about what it may mean for the Austin-basedautomaker’s future. “I was completely mind blown that the same car I can buy today starting at around $38k — which also happens to be the best selling car in the world — just did paid driverless rides around Austin, TX without someone behind the steering wheel and pedal,” X user @farzyness posted after three rides in one of the Model Y vehicles being used as robotaxis — which actually start at more than $50,000, according to cars.com. “The implications from this are far-reaching and very disruptive. This breaks transportation.” RELATED: Tesla robotaxis begin rolling in Austin, but only for a select few He was among a handful of online Tesla influencers — fans who post regularly about the company on social media— who received invitations to download the Robotaxi app and try the company’s service Sunday in Austin. It’s not available to the general public. Rival Waymo has already deployed driverless taxis in Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego and other cities using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It recently completed its 10 millionth paid ride and has begun testing in San Antonio and other cities. Other companies also are testing in Austin. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made the robotaxi program a priority and any trouble with it could be highly damaging to the company’s stock price, which had tumbled 20% this year. Sunday’s limited rollout appeared to give it a boost, though, with the share price rocketing at the opening bell. It was up nearly 10% in midafternoon trading. Also among Sunday’s passengers was Rob Maurer, an investor whose live ride video shows the Model Y he’s in entering an intersection in a left-turn-only lane. The Tesla hesitates to make the turn, swerves right and continues into an unoccupied lane meant for traffic moving in the opposite direction. A honking horn can be heard as the robotaxi returns to the correct lane over a double-yellow line, a violation. Other riders shared videos of Tesla robotaxis exceeding the posted speed limit by 4 mph or 5 mph. For now, the test vehicles are operating in a limited area. The current geofence area goes as far south as Ben White Boulevard and U.S. 290, west to Texas State Loop 1, north to Cesar Chavez Street and east to U.S. 183. According to CEO Elon Musk, Sunday’s trial had a flat fee of $4.20 for the select group. It was unclear if Tesla paid for the influencers’ trips to Austin, their robotaxi fares or for social media posts about the service. The company hasn't responded to requests for comment. “As an Early Access Rider, you can be among the first to use our new Robotaxi App and experience a ride within our geofenced area in Austin,” the invitations said. “Through this exclusive preview, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback.” Though there was no one behind the wheel, information sent with the invitations indicated front-seat human safety monitors — Tesla employees riding with Sunday’s invitees — would be subject to the same restrictions as drivers of Tesla models with the so-called Full Self-Driving system. That means the cabin camera was watching the monitor’s eyes to make sure they’re on the road and, presumably, warn them if they’re not. A few of the videos posted Sunday showed monitors turned around to look at a passenger in the back seats. Here’s a look at what the invitees are saying online about Tesla’s robotaxi service: Featured Weekly Ad