Tesla may remove robotaxi service from Austin, says CEO

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company could remove safety monitors from its robotaxis in parts of Austin by the end of 2025.

He also told investors Tesla aims to launch robotaxi services in 8 to 10 new states, including Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, within the same timeframe.

Currently, Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin and San Francisco use human safety monitors, unlike rival Waymo, which operates without them.

Musk said the monitors are kept in vehicles as a precaution, and Tesla will maintain this approach when entering new markets.

VP of AI software Ashok Elluswamy said Tesla’s robotaxis in Austin have driven over 250,000 miles, while San Francisco vehicles have exceeded 1 million miles.

The company has not disclosed how many robotaxis it operates in Austin but previously reported about 20 vehicles to state officials.

Musk noted that future expansion depends on regulatory approval in each state.

🔗 Source: The Verge

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Musk says he will remove safety monitors by year-end, yet Tesla lacks required permits for commercial driverless service in California, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) says it has not applied to operate autonomous vehicles for public passenger service 1. That includes paid or unpaid trips with or without a driver 1. The company also has not applied for driverless testing or deployment permits in the state 1.
Tesla has held a drivered testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) since 2014. It allows autonomous vehicle (AV) operation with a human safety driver but blocks paid service 1. To run driverless robotaxis commercially in San Francisco, Tesla would need a California DMV Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Permit and CPUC driverless deployment authorization, approvals for carrying passengers without a safety driver 2.

Tesla plans launches in 8 to 10 new states with mandatory safety monitors, so a human operator will ride in the vehicle and can take over if needed. Musk said all vehicles in new markets will include a safety monitor regardless of local rules.
HR tech firms and business process outsourcing (BPO) providers can build AV safety operator platforms for hiring, training, scheduling and compliance across multiple states. Vendors with teleoperations (remote assist and monitoring) and incident management for AV fleets can win business before Tesla goes fully driverless.
Austin operations cover “more than a quarter million miles”, so expansion to 8 to 10 regions could require coordinating dozens to hundreds of safety operators.