The Verge – Tesla’s ‘robotaxi’ rides in San Francisco have a human at the wheel
/ It’s a ridehailing service, not a robotaxi one.
Editors note: not only is it a ridehailing service instead of a robotaxi one, but San Jose ain’t San Francisco.
See original article by Emma Roth at The Verge
Tesla’s newly launched ridehailing service in San Francisco isn’t quite ready for the “robotaxi” designation. After launching its robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, with a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat last month, a video of Tesla’s service in San Francisco [Editor: definitely not San Francisco] shows a vehicle arriving with a human at the wheel, as reported earlier by Business Insider.
Might have to go on holiday from the UK to try one!@grok will this ever come to the UK?
— Think AI News 🧠 (@ThinkAINews) July 31, 2025
California requires companies to obtain three permits to operate a commercial robotaxi service. So far, the state has granted Tesla just one of the permits, allowing it to run a ridehailing service with a human in the driver’s seat. The Alphabet-owned Waymo is currently the only company with all the permits to offer commercial driverless rides in San Francisco.
Even though the service in Texas and California hasn’t yet achieved Musk’s promise of operating with “no one in the car,” Musk told Tesla investors last week that he plans to expand robotaxi service to Florida, Nevada, and Arizona.
See original article by Emma Roth at The Verge
