"In a visible sign of its shifting posture from daredevil innovation to cautious compliance, Tesla this week relocated its robotaxi safety monitors, employees who supervise the autonomous software’s performance and can take over the vehicle’s operation at any moment, from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat."
And this one in Electrek.[2]
The state of Texas recently enacted regulations for self-driving cars that require more reporting. Tesla's Robotaxi with a driver is not a self-driving car under Texas law.
Musk claims Tesla will remove the safety driver by the end of the year. Is there a prediction market on that?
Seeking Alpha: [1] "In sharp contrast, Tesla FSD largely remains a beta product that still requires drivers' attention. Even their Robotaxi service, which likely launched more out of necessity to stay in the headlines as opposed to actual readiness, requires a full-time human to monitor the vehicle. Independent data consistently shows that Tesla requires far more human intervention on a per mile basis than Waymo. This is not surprising as it seems FSD errors are becoming commonplace, with numerous examples of Tesla's FSD mode swerving into oncoming traffic, misinterpreting construction zones, and even failing to recognize pedestrians continuing to pile up."
Seeking Alpha (this author anyway) is also wrong. They don't have data, and there are tons of examples of Waymo making mistakes, hitting buses, etc.
None of this is independent reporting. They're reading the same social media posts and repackaging them into articles. None of these authors are based in Austin where robotaxi is.
Coverge in Austin-American Statesman newspaper. "After its June 22 rollout in Austin, Tesla launched a ride-hailing service in the Bay Area under the same name, but the cars there all come with a driver behind the wheel.
Beyond the fact it’s still not driverless in either city, Tesla’s ride-hailing service has so far been available only to a limited list of influencers and brand fans — many of whom monetize their content by promoting Tesla online."[1]
The bay area situation is different - they are waiting for California approval to not have someone in the drivers' seat. This is different from Texas. But you don't have to be an influencer or brand fan. Anyone can download the app, verify their location, get on a waitlist, and get off the waitlist sequential order.
"In a visible sign of its shifting posture from daredevil innovation to cautious compliance, Tesla this week relocated its robotaxi safety monitors, employees who supervise the autonomous software’s performance and can take over the vehicle’s operation at any moment, from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat."
And this one in Electrek.[2]
The state of Texas recently enacted regulations for self-driving cars that require more reporting. Tesla's Robotaxi with a driver is not a self-driving car under Texas law.
Musk claims Tesla will remove the safety driver by the end of the year. Is there a prediction market on that?
[1] https://gizmodo.com/tesla-robotaxi-2000653821
[2] https://electrek.co/2025/09/03/tesla-moves-robotaxi-safety-m...