Tesla to Launch Bay Area Robotaxi Pilot With Safety Drivers This Weekend

Tesla is preparing to roll out its second U.S. robotaxi pilot in the San Francisco Bay Area as early as this weekend, according to Business Insider and multiple follow‑up reports. An internal memo seen by reporters describes a geofenced service zone stretching from Marin County through the East Bay and down to San Jose, with invited Tesla owners paying for rides in specially equipped Model Ys. The vehicles will operate in autonomous mode but keep a trained safety driver behind the wheel while the company awaits full commercial permits from California regulators.

The Bay Area launch mirrors Tesla’s ongoing pilot in Austin, Texas, where monitors sit in the passenger seat and remote operators stand by to take control if necessary. CEO Elon Musk confirmed during this week’s earnings call that the California expansion was next, noting the fleet already includes additional cameras, redundant compute units and V2X communication hardware. Tesla has sharply increased its autonomous‑testing workforce and says the pilot will gather real‑world data to refine its Full Self‑Driving (FSD) software ahead of an eventual driverless rollout.

Industry analysts see the move as an aggressive push to regain momentum after sagging EV sales, but caution that the absence of a California Public Utilities Commission permit could limit scale until regulatory hurdles are cleared. Still, the announcement lifted Tesla shares nearly 5 % in Friday trading and intensified competition with existing robotaxi operators Waymo and Cruise, both already active on Bay Area streets.