
Elon Musk announced plans to launch a self-driving Tesla vehicle service in California and Texas by 2025. Speaking at Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, Musk revealed that employee testing is already underway in the Bay Area, though safety drivers remain present during tests.
The company will seek regulatory approval in California, where currently only Waymo operates commercial driverless robotaxis in San Francisco. Musk also committed to free hardware upgrades for vehicles with Hardware 3 if needed for full autonomous operation, though he noted that no Tesla vehicles can currently drive without human intervention.