Catenaa, Friday, July 25, 2025- Tesla was told staff on Thursday that it plans to launch its Robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekend, Business Insider reported.
Quoting an internal memo by Tesla, the report said that the company said its timeline for the launch had been moved up, and the service could launch as soon as Friday.
Some Tesla owners will be sent an invite to use the service, the memo said, and users will pay for Robotaxi rides.
The geofenced area where Robotaxi service will operate covers a large swath of the Bay Area, including Marin, much of the East Bay, San Francisco, and stretching south to San Jose, according to the memo.
The program will launch with safety drivers in the driver’s seat who will be able to control the car using the steering wheel and brakes, it said.
A spokesperson for the California DMV told Business Insider that the agency recently met with Tesla, but the company has yet to apply for a permit for driverless testing or deployment.
The California Public Utilities Commission granted Tesla a permit to provide a transportation service for employees, but as of July 10, Tesla had not applied for any permits that would allow it to provide a commercial service to the public, Business Insider previously reported.
Elon Musk said during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday that its Robotaxis will operate with a safety operator in the front seat during the initial deployment in the Bay Area.
In Austin, where Tesla launched its Robotaxi service last month, the carmaker currently has safety monitors that sit in the passenger seat of the vehicle and remote operators that can intervene if the vehicle goes off course.
Tesla’s second-quarter earnings showed its sharpest drop in revenue in a decade, and sent the stock down over 8% in trading on Thursday.
Musk has said the company plans to expand its service globally, but for now, it is also seeking approval in Florida and Arizona.
Tesla shares have been down by 4.4% in the last five trading days with the Q2 earnings miss, and the share is down by over 24% so far in the year.
