Tesla’s New ‘Robotaxis’ Are Basically Just Normal Taxis

Customers have been surprised to see that their “self-driving taxi” comes with someone in the front seat.

By Braden Bjella

Published 3 months ago in Facepalm

If you’ve seen stories about Waymo’s self-driving cars, you might assume that Tesla’s new Robotaxis are just the same thing, only with cringier branding.


So, are they? Well, kind of. The car does drive by itself — however, there’s a catch. As of right now, if you order a Tesla Robotaxi, there’s someone in the front passenger seat who has a significant amount of control over the vehicle. Yup, even the Robotaxis aren’t “full self-driving.”


According to tech YouTuber MKBHD, all Tesla Robotaxis currently have a “safety monitor.” These people are there to be able to pull over or stop the car in case something goes wrong.


You know, like a driver.


Tesla says that they plan to get rid of these safety officers once all the bugs have been worked out, but seeing as the company has promised full self-driving cars “next year” for about a decade, I’m not sure I buy it.

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