Prepare for Tesla Robotaxis to Arrive in San Francisco—Starting Today

      Tesla’s robotaxis might arrive in San Francisco sooner than anticipated—much sooner, in fact. As reported by Business Insider, Tesla is already mobilizing local staff with plans to launch the service today, Friday, despite not having obtained permission for its vehicles to operate autonomously with passengers in California.

      If this report holds true, it’s likely that Tesla’s new service won't be fully autonomous. Without a permit to run robotaxis in California, ride-hailing services need to provide human drivers for their autonomous vehicles. We reached out to Tesla for clarification and will update our story if a spokesperson provides any information.

      Tesla's main competitor, Waymo, gained approval to operate without human operators in 2023, along with GM’s Cruise. However, GM later halted the development of its platform and permanently discontinued its ride-hailing service in San Francisco.

      Last year, Tesla applied for a permit to function as a ride-hail service, which included requirements for background checks and drug testing for potential drivers. To be fair, intoxication could explain some of the issues seen with Tesla’s so-called Full Self Driving system, but it’s very unlikely that recreational substances are responsible—at least not on the robots' part.

      According to Reuters, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this week that the company is working on securing regulatory approval to launch driverless services in several states, including California. As of Wednesday, California officials had not yet received Tesla's application, much less approved a permit for the autonomous taxi service.

      Have you seen a Tesla Robotaxi operating in San Francisco? Share your experience at [email protected].