During Tesla’s Q3 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company is already operating a supervised rideshare service for employees in the Bay Area, featuring a safety driver.
This pilot program marks an early step toward Tesla’s ambitious rollout of a broader ride-hailing platform in California and Texas next year, with plans to launch in Texas at an accelerated pace. The Tesla Robotaxi service is coming soon, folks.
According to Musk, the building blocks for Tesla’s rideshare and robotaxi services have been in development for years. The company intends to integrate these services into the Tesla app, enhancing the customer experience by allowing users to control the climate, seats, and media during rides.
Tesla previously teased its ridesharing network would offer seamless pickup and drop-off at doorsteps, and enhanced control options for passengers. The company has positioned the pilot service with employees as a supervised trial run for what will eventually evolve into public robotaxi offerings.
Musk said that it expects to roll out ride hailing in California and Texas in 2025 to the public, with this expected to come to life faster in Texas. How this will work is users will use the Tesla app to order a Robotaxi, similar to ordering an Uber. But these cars will be Tesla vehicles belonging to owners. Even if a supervised version comes out, that will be huge.