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Tesla’s ‘robotaxi’ rides in San Francisco have a human at the wheel

Emma Roth

created: July 31, 2025, 5:20 p.m. | updated: Aug. 1, 2025, 3:51 a.m.

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 shows a vehicle arriving with a human at the wheel, as reported earlier by Business Insider. 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.

3 weeks, 2 days ago: The Verge