Tesla has been testing a robotaxi service in the Bay Area for much of the year.
Employees only, for now.
Tesla has been testing a robotaxi service in the Bay Area over the past few months, as indicated by Elon Musk during the company’s latest earnings call. Employees have had the opportunity to request a Tesla autonomous vehicle for their commutes using the company’s prototype ride-sharing app. These vehicles are equipped with safety drivers onboard, ready to intervene in case any issues arise.
Musk noted that the vehicles are operating autonomously thanks to the latest version of the company’s Full Self-Driving software, which he claims will be “a thousand times better” than human driving by the second quarter of 2025. Additionally, he announced that a paid ride service will launch next year in California and Texas, pending approval from authorities. Currently, Tesla does not have a license to operate a commercial autonomous ride service in California, although Musk predicted that obtaining permission would be easier in Texas compared to California.
It is important to mention that, in its current version, the FSD system is a Level 2 driver assistance, meaning it is not fully autonomous and requires continuous human supervision. Although Musk has promised that the FSD will become “unsupervised” next year, his past predictions regarding autonomy have a track record of not being fulfilled. Nevertheless, the fact that Tesla is testing its transport function with employees demonstrates the company’s commitment to finally launching the long-awaited Tesla Network.
The Tesla Network, first mentioned in Musk's Master Plan Part Deux, aims to allow Tesla owners to send their vehicles out autonomously as robotaxis while they remain at home. Musk described this as a profound change, stating that Tesla will become more than just a maker of vehicles and batteries at that time.
During the earnings call, Tesla executives described certain features in the current app, such as profile sharing and configuration syncing between different vehicles, as a foundation leading up to the eventual arrival of the robotaxi service. The company had already shown several screenshots of this feature in the app earlier this year, where a large button labeled “Summon” and a message about the wait time were visible. The next screen displayed a 3D map with a virtual vehicle following a route to the waiting passenger, very similar to the Uber app but with a more distinctly Tesla style.
Musk also recently revealed the Cybercab, promising that this model will begin production in 2026.
