It looks like Tesla CEO, Elon Musk may have sprung his robotaxi plans on his unsuspecting investors. Musk tantalized investors in July with a robotaxi update: After a small-scale test in Austin, Texas, Tesla would rapidly expand driverless cabs to markets including the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was “getting the regulatory permission to launch.”
Tesla began testing its ride-hailing service with vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, starting with limited trials in Austin involving human safety drivers. Musk announced that the service would expand to the San Francisco Bay Area, one of Tesla’s key markets, within months. Musk has framed the robotaxi rollout as a revolution in urban transportation, aiming to compete with traditional ride-hailing services while offering lower costs and full autonomy.
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However, the San Francisco expansion has encountered significant regulatory resistance. Despite Musk’s public claims, Tesla does not yet have the permits required to operate fully autonomous or paid robotaxi services in California. The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) have pushed back, citing concerns about misleading communications and safety risks.
News of Tesla’s robotaxi plans surprised and alarmed regulators, according to emails among California and federal officials and a Tesla public-policy staffer, which Reuters obtained through a public-records request.
After a media report that Tesla would deploy Bay Area robotaxis in late July, a senior state transportation official asked the Tesla employee whether the company would clear up the “public confusion.”
Musk also proposes that Tesla owners could allow their cars to join the robotaxi network when not in personal use, generating passive income. The robotaxi concept is central to Musk’s goal of transforming transportation and reducing the cost of urban mobility.
A spokesperson for the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates autonomous ride-hailing, said Tesla is required to “properly and accurately” describe its service and ensure its communications “provide a clear distinction” between its human-driven operations in California and autonomous ride-hailing it offers elsewhere.