Tesla has released the details about its planned ‘Robotaxi’ launch in Austin, Texas, this weekend, and it’s even worse than we thought. There’s going to be a “safety monitor” in the front seat.

Over the last few weeks, we have been discussing how Tesla’s planned launch of a “Robotaxi” service was a game of smoke and mirrors, meant to improve the optics of the automaker’s self-driving efforts as Waymo emerges as a clear leader.

The planned service is a geo-fenced and teleoperation-supported ride-hailing service operated by a small internal fleet, which is completely different from Tesla’s long-promised unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles through its “Full Self-Driving program.”

Furthermore, we have been reported on Tesla’s limited testing in Austin, which CEO Elon Musk claimed involved “no driver”, but test vehicles have all been spotted with Tesla employees in the front passenger seats with access to buttons to stop the car or have it pull over.

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In comparison, Waymo tested its vehicles for 6 months with a safety driver in the car and 6 months without a safety driver in the car in Austin before launching its commercial service earlier this year.

Now, Tesla has sent invitations to some known pro-Tesla influencers, primarily on Musk’s X social media platform, to experience the launch of the Robotaxi service this weekend.

The invitations confirm extreme limitations in the service, with the most significant one being the presence of a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat.

Here are the other requirements listed:

• You must agree to Terms of Service, Rider Rules, Privacy Notice, and Service Animal Policy.
• You must have a credit/debit card on file.
• You can request a ride via the app from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, within the geofenced area (excluding airports).
• Operational hours and geofence details are available in the app and may change.
• Service may be limited or unavailable in inclement weather.
• Only the invited user may download and use the Robotaxi app.
• Participants must be courteous and respectful; unsafe or disrespectful behavior may lead to termination.
• Riders should provide a star rating and feedback in the app.
• Photos and videos of the experience are permitted.
• Smoking, vaping, consuming alcohol, and using drugs are not permitted inside the Robotaxi.
• Robotaxi may not be used in connection with any crime or to transport weapons or illegal/hazardous materials (e.g., flammable or combustible liquids).
• Surveillance, reverse engineering, or recording of proprietary Robotaxi components or features is strictly prohibited.
• Tesla may suspend or terminate access if:
  • You violate any of these rules.
  • You post or share content on social media that depicts misuse or violations inside the Robotaxi.

In short, Tesla’s “Robotaxi” service is going to launch with the supervision of Tesla employees in the front seat at all times. It’s limited to 6 am to 12 am and it doesn’t work in “inclement weather.

Electrek’s Take

Again, like I repeatedly said, this is all about optics. Tesla is just trying to get a win and say that it “launched its robotaxi on time in June” when this is basically Tesla’s public FSD with the supervising driver being moved to the passenger seat.

At least it’s going to be safer than if Tesla went without it, but it clearly shows that Tesla is falling far behind Waymo and the competition when it comes to self-driving.

The main thing that people like about Waymo and there are even willing to pay more than Uber is the fact that there’s no one else in the car.

This simply won’t scale. Tesla has yet to solve self-driving. It needs to focus on that instead of appearences.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the Tesla Robotaxi launch this weekend, the new Nissan Leaf, Ford’s upcoming low-cost EVs, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

Today, the episode is live at 8 a.m instead due to Fred’s travels in China.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

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After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 8:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 9 a.m. ET):