Viral video showing a Robotaxi safety driver who appeared to be asleep in California reignites debate over over autonomous vehicle safety practices

Musk’s robotaxis are a little closer to reality, with a kind of limited service being offered in Austin, Texas, as well as parts of San Francisco. But Tesla might need to rethink its approach to safety drivers after a Tesla rideshare passenger in San Francisco took to Reddit to share a video of the operator asleep in the driver’s seat.

A Tesla Robotaxi ‘safety driver’ in San Francisco was caught on video sleeping in the middle of a drive with a customer. The good news is that the system did wake him up, but certainly a bit late. Tesla currently claims to be operating its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, Texas, and the Bay Area in California.

A Reddit user said that a Tesla robotaxi safety driver fell asleep behind the wheel at least three times while using the service.

Tesla receives Arizona approval to offer ride-hailing services, a key step toward launching its robotaxi network by year-end.

Tesla's filings with the California government paint a very different picture of its Robotaxi ambitions than its CEO's public statements do.

The electric vehicle maker applied for a Transportation Network Company (TNC) permit on Nov. 13, which would be the final step needed to bring its Robotaxi service to the Phoenix area. The company has since met the requirements to operate as a TNC in Arizona, and the permit was granted by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) on Nov. 17.

The Austin automaker will need additional permits before its self-driving cars can hit the streets, though. It operates with human safety monitors in Texas, California.

Waymo began offering fully driverless freeway trips across major U.S. cities, widening its autonomous-ride footprint from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Phoenix. ・Musk’s comment on X heightened attention on the growing rivalry between Tesla’s FSD program and Waymo’s expanding robotaxi network.