Tesla Launches Robotaxi Service in San Francisco with 1,000 Vehicles

Tesla launched its long-awaited robotaxi service in San Francisco on Monday, deploying a fleet of 1,000 fully autonomous vehicles in the city and marking a pivotal moment for the company's years-long effort to commercialize self-driving technology.

The service, called Tesla Robotaxi, allows users to hail a driverless Tesla Model 3 or Model Y through the Tesla app. The vehicles operate without a human safety driver, using the company's Full Self-Driving software and a suite of cameras and neural networks to navigate city streets.

The launch puts Tesla in direct competition with Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, which has been operating a commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco since 2022. Waymo currently has approximately 700 vehicles in operation in the city.

Elon Musk, who has been promising a robotaxi service for years, called the launch "the beginning of the autonomous transportation revolution" at a press event in San Francisco. "This is the most important product launch in Tesla's history," Musk said. "Within five years, human-driven cars will be the exception, not the rule."

Early riders reported a mostly smooth experience, with the vehicles navigating complex urban environments including the city's notoriously steep hills and heavy pedestrian traffic. Several riders noted that the vehicles occasionally slowed unnecessarily or took conservative routes, but said the overall experience was impressive.