Tesla is launching an even-more-limited version of its early robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekend, according to Business Insider, after an initial rollout began last month in Austin, Texas.
The company plans to offer rides with a driver in the driver’s seat, which is necessary because Tesla does not have the proper permits for driverless testing or deployment, according to California DMV records.
It is not clear whether the company has obtained a permit from California’s Public Utilities Commission to give rides to members of the public. So far, it is only allowed to do that for employees. Business Insider reports that the company plans to send invites to Tesla owners to test the service; on Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said on a conference call that it is in the process of getting regulatory approval in California.
The push into California comes as the DMV is currently trying to stop Tesla from selling vehicles in the state as part of a years-long lawsuit over the promises the company has made about its cars’ self-driving abilities. Tesla is also currently on trial in a lawsuit over deaths related to the use of its less-capable driver assistance system, Autopilot.
Tesla has been running an invite-only version of its robotaxi service in Austin since June 22. It’s so far been a far cry from what Musk has spent years teasing. The service is mostly limited to Austin’s downtown core and main corridors. There is a safety operator in the front passenger seat who can intervene if the car is about to do something wrong or dangerous. While the service launched with around 10 vehicles, it’s not clear how many Model Y SUVs are in operation in the city, nor is it clear how many times those safety operators have had to intervene.
That’s a long way from the “general solution” that Musk said Tesla was working on for a decade. Musk was once so confident in the autonomous software Tesla was developing that he said it would take a car from Los Angeles to New York — a stunt that never happened. Musk said this week that Tesla is also trying to expand to Florida and Arizona. TechCrunch reported earlier this month that Tesla had begun the required certification process to test and operate with and without a driver in Arizona.
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