Electric car maker Tesla will launch an automated taxi service in San Francisco, California, this weekend, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.
According to the memo, the company has sped up its timeline for launching the service, a version of which has already been released in Austin, Texas, and will soon send out invitations to some Tesla owners in the Bay Area.
San Francisco already has autonomous taxis from Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, that are completely driverless, but Tesla's service will have a human seated in the driver's seat to monitor for safety.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Motor Vehicles told Business Insider that although the agency has met with Tesla, they have not yet applied for a permit that would allow driverless testing or deployment. The agency did not respond when asked if these permits would be necessary for Tesla if the company includes a human in the driver's seat.
The California Public Utilities Commission told Business Insider previously that Tesla has been granted a permit to provide transportation for its employees, but said the company has yet to apply for a permit to provide commercial transportation services.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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