Tesla’s San Francisco Robotaxi Launch Could Happen As Soon As Friday: Report

Tesla (TSLA) has reportedly told staff that it plans to launch its Robotaxi services in San Francisco this weekend.

According to a report by Business Insider, the EV maker informed employees that the timeline for the Robotaxi launch had been accelerated and could occur as soon as Friday. The memo to staff also stated that some Tesla owners would be invited to use the services, and users would pay for the Robotaxi rides. 

Tesla’s stock edged 0.5% higher in pre-market trade on Friday after plummeting 8.2% in the previous session after its latest quarterly results disappointed. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company also improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory a day ago amid ‘high’ levels of chatter.

According to a report by Reuters, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla is "getting the regulatory permission to launch" robotaxis in several states, including California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, during Wednesday's earnings call. 

He added that he expects operations to reach “half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year” and attain scale by the end of the year. 

Tesla has only been operating its Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, so far, and it is not available to the general public. However, Musk asserted that the Robotaxi business would have a “material impact” on Tesla’s business by the end of the year and that the San Francisco Bay Area was the first on his list of expansion markets. 

He said that the Robotaxis will operate with a safety operator in the front seat during the initial deployment in the Bay Area.

According to both reports, the California DMW official said that the company has not yet applied for a permit for driverless testing or deployment. The agency had granted Tesla a permit to provide transportation services for company employees. Still, it has not applied for any licenses that would allow it to provide commercial services to the public. 

Tesla’s stock has fallen more than 21% this year so far, but gained 35% over the last 12 months. 

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