During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk announced plans to launch a ride-hailing service for self-driving Tesla vehicles in California and Texas by 2025. He mentioned that the service has been tested with employees in the Bay Area. This goes beyond his earlier promise of an “unsupervised” Full Self-Driving software version for Model 3 and Model Y owners in those states.
Tesla’s VP of software engineering, David Lau, clarified that the current vehicles cannot operate without human intervention, despite ongoing tests with safety drivers in place. The Full Self-Driving software currently serves as an advanced driver assistance system, requiring the driver’s attention and control.
Musk emphasized the need for regulatory approval before launching the service to the public, acknowledging the challenges of the process in California. He expressed optimism about a smoother approval process in Texas. Waymo is currently the only company allowed to operate a driverless robotaxi service in San Francisco, following the regulations set by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Tesla’s history of overpromising autonomous driving capabilities was also addressed, with Musk admitting that the Hardware 3 upgrade might not enable full self-driving functionality. He assured owners that if the software requires different hardware, Tesla will replace it at no additional cost.
