Tesla has released a robotaxi ride-hailing app for its employees without any fanfare

Tesla has launched a rental service for electric cars with FSD Supervised autonomous driving for some of its employees. Currently, this service is only available for testing in Austin and San Francisco. The company reported that it has already completed 1.5 thousand trips and traveled 15 thousand miles. This is a significant step toward robotaxis for the general public, which happened quietly without any hype from the company’s CEO. The department confirmed that the FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is now available for some employees in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.

These cities are very important for Tesla, as each has a brand presence. A short video published alongside the announcement provides a bit more insight into how the service works. The program involves clicking a button labeled ‘Pick me up.’ Once the car arrives, users will receive a notification and a reminder to fasten their seatbelts. A Cybertruck-style font displays a new script that refers to the service as ‘Robotaxi.’ It appears that, for now, a safety driver is present in the driver’s seat during testing. After entering the car, passengers will receive a message on the rear infotainment screen to confirm their name, address, and arrival time.

Then, passengers will click the ‘Start Ride’ button in the car. According to Tesla, 1.5 thousand trips have already been completed, covering 15 thousand miles. Interestingly, the use of the term ‘Robotaxi’ helps us understand an important point. ‘Cybercab’ refers to the vehicle, while ‘Robotaxi’ refers to the service, which could utilize multiple Tesla models. Undoubtedly, they will share software and functionality to some extent.

Perhaps the biggest surprise here is that this has happened rather than the fact that it is occurring at a specific time. It is known that Elon Musk has been cautious about true Level 5 driving technologies. This time, it seems his promise of a paid version of this service might come true. However, we expect full-scale mass adoption to take a considerable amount of time.