Tesla’s Robotaxis are officially powered by human drivers as it launches ride-hailing in Bay Area
Tesla has launched its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area, branded as 'Robotaxi', which is operated by human drivers rather than being fully autonomous. The service utilizes a 'safety monitor' in the front passenger seat, indicating a supervised system rather than a level 4 autonomous driving system. This approach is similar to its previous launch in Austin, where Texas law permits such operations, allowing Tesla to present a more appealing image by not having a driver in the driver's seat.
Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ is now blatantly operated by human drivers as the automaker launches a ride-hailing service in the Bay Area through its ‘Robotaxi’ app.
When Tesla launched its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, we noted how it was just for optics and the fact that it still uses “safety monitor” in the front passenger seats makes it a “supervised” system and therefore, not a level 4 autonomous driving system.
It’s basically Tesla’s consumer ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ (FSD), but with the supervisor moved from the driver’s seat to the front passenger seat.
The reason Tesla was able to do that is that Texas law allows it, and it looks better for them than having a driver in the driver’s seat. Instead, the “safety monitor” has access to a kill switch that can stop the car, something Tesla is not publicizing.
