Tesla launches Robotaxi in San Francisco — true autonomy has not been brought here again

Tesla is preparing to expand its so-called Robotaxi autonomous taxi program in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend. But «autonomous» it is only in words, because a driver will still be behind the wheel.

In recent months, Tesla has repeatedly tried to create the effect of an accelerated breakthrough in autonomous driving. But the reality is different: a fully autonomous Level 4 system is not yet ready for launch. And after years of ambitious but unfulfilled promises, Elon Musk is eager to demonstrate at least some progress.

Last month Tesla launches Robotaxi service in Austin (Texas) using modified versions of Model Y. However, since the system is not yet capable of working independently, there is a so-called «supervisor» — person in the cabin who can stop the car at any time. This is reminiscent of the existing version of the Full Self-Driving system that Tesla sells to customers: it requires constant driver control. Moreover, the work of «autonomous» Robotaxi is controlled by a remote operator. And in addition, the cars are still running only within a limited area.

Interestingly, these «supervisors» intervened in the car’s operation dozens of times during the first month of testing in Texas — and this was only during 7000 miles (11265 km) of driving.

Now Tesla is preparing to launch the same Robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to rumors, this could happen this weekend. Earlier this week, however, Tesla’s head of autonomous driving Ashok Eluswami confirmed that the Bay Area launch will take place with a human in the driver’s seat. According to him, the company is waiting for regulatory approval, and in the meantime, it is launching the service in «transitional» mode — in order not to waste time.

However, according to the latest data, Tesla has not even filed official applications for the necessary permits for the commercial operation of autonomous cars in California.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk continues to paint bright prospects for the Robotaxi service. As part of his latest financial report, he promisedthat «by the end of the year, Tesla Robotaxi will cover half of the US population».

Source: electrek