The first test of Tesla’s long-standing Robotax service, held next month in Austin, Texas, will be limited to certain areas initially considered by the company as “the safest.”
Tesla’s car said, “If we’re very confident at that intersection (they do well) then we’re not going to take a crossroads unless it just takes a route around that intersection,” Musk said. “We’re very paranoid about the development.
Using Geofence represents the major strategic changes for Musk that his company spent years claiming that it could create a generic, self-driving solution that could stop and do the job without human supervision. (Geofence is a term used in the automotive industry, meaning that vehicles are restricted to certain regions.) Musk claims that Tesla will try to launch similar testing later this year for Robotaxi services in California and possibly other states.
Musk telegraphed the idea of using geofence in Tesla’s first quarter revenue calls in April. The CEO said at the time that “there is an increasing possibility that there will be a localized set of parameters” due to early Robotaxi operations.
As part of Tesla’s “delusional” approach, Musk said Tuesday that employees can remotely monitor an early fleet of around 10 model Y SUVs with “unsupervised” versions of fully automated driving software. Musk also claimed that these vehicles were driving without an internal safety operator.
“I think it would be wise to start with a few and make sure things are going well and expand in proportion to how well we are,” he said.
It is common practice for autonomous vehicle companies like Waymo to place operations centers where people are monitoring Robotaxis when necessary and providing remote guidance. Waymo, who blogged on this topic in 2024, has no control over the vehicle. Instead, human employees primarily communicate with autonomous driving systems through questions and answers, providing appropriate context and helping them resolve problems.