Tesla Rolls Out Robotaxi on Austin Freeways With Safety Operator in Driver’s Seat

I like how Tesla uses the term “safety operator” instead of “safety driver” even though it’s the same thing.

FYI: it’s still not a Robotaxi

So it's just a taxi? Got it.

>However, and according to a video shared on X earlier this Tuesday, the safety operator is now in the driver’s seat Great improvement from the operator in the passenger seat, sure! So now just a basic taxi service with a human in the driver's seat... Such a revolution, Tesla!

They are going the wrong direction just so they can do freeway. But in order to remove the driver, they will have to start all over. Smoke and mirrors over at Tesla.

Are they starting over? Or are they still stuck exactly where they were nine years ago?

What is even the use of this? Just fucking drive yourself…

Tesla rolls out taxis

Oh they are stuck. I’m saying they will have to start over if they (ever) remove the safety operator from the vehicle.

THE PERSON IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT IS ONLY THERE FOR LEGAL REASONS. HE IS NOT DOING ANYTHING. THE CAR IS DRIVING ITSELF. ***Tesla: Gaslighting customers since 2016***

I'm surprised they didn't call them "safety monitors" or "safety supervisors" since operator still implies they are doing work.

Maybe safety operator doesn't need a driver license? Bullish !t

Pfft... it's a *safety* operator, not a *car* operator.

\*shittier taxis

They really put the taxi in "robotaxi"

Touche!

Human assisted robotaxi.

This is what's called a "taxi."

Fully Supervised Driving you say?

So teleoperators were deemed unsafe and turned into safety drivers. I'm wondering what made them decide to put a human openly behind the wheel instead of keeping them hidden in an office. Was it a technical issue—latency, maybe—or did they just stop caring about maintaining the full facade, figuring anyone still in on the grift wouldn't complain?

So just a taxi with FSD basically?

A single seater taxi at that. What a dud of a vehicle.

Its a Telmo.

My 2005 Camry is also a robotaxi. It requires a safety driver too.

I'm surprised Elon hasn't paid Joe Rogan to be a safety operator given how much Rogan sucks Elon's dick and balls.

Finally, I was wondering when somebody would put people into cars that drive others around for a price. That Elon is a smart one.

They always had safety drivers, they were just in the passenger seat with the ability to stop the vehicle. Turns out coming to a sudden full stop is a blunt instrument that introduces its own problems. On city streets that's probably just a big annoyance to everyone on the road but on the highway it could be deadly.

Remember when words used to have meaning? Good times.

Just curious -- why does this website's URL misspell "electric"?

So a regular taxi then

That’s just a taxi with extra steps!

When I did a demo drive of a Model Y back in June, the FSD got confused by a plastic bag and nearly got rear-ended trying to get back to the showroom.

Perhaps the proper spelling was already taken when the registered it.

So, a taxi.

So Taxi

"*Future*"

<Insert Joe Rogan pushing these hard on next show>

User name checks out.

My 2017 pacifica minivan is fully autonomous... except for the driver behind the wheel.

Tesla is about 6 months out from fully autonomous taxis and they will be the first to market justifying their $1 trillion plus market cap!

turns out? as if this wasnt blatantly obvious to anyone who has driven a car lmao

I mean, if the vehicle just needs to lock its brakes on the freeway for no reason, the software already does that...

Some Tesla social media employee is reading your comment and trying to Figure out how to leverage it into a better bonus while hiding they stole the idea from you.

"Robotaxi"

na-ah! You also get your personalized apps on the tiny touchscreen at your ankles while sitting in the back.

Maybe a lazy Uber?

Stock up 4%.sure why not. Market cap of BMW by the way just the rise today

Telsers are travelling, not driving!

They're probably paid a bit more than your typical taxi driver to ignore the added danger. That said, they could probably solicit volunteers from the Tesla bros.

They'd definitely be fired if Tesla knew they were reading this sub ;)

So a car ?

It’s part of their job as social media engagement.

Vehicular homocide auditor

Nah it’s a taxi that tries to occasionally murder people.

They can burn money to appear to have tech growth

Love how the stock reacts to this shit as if it'll bring in trillions to tesla

Robo(not)Taxi

Robotaxin’t

Ne Robotaxi pas

Dumb question: if FSD is 10x safer than a human, why?

No, the passenger pays a fare.

I like to think they're mostly the drive-by commenters who get caught in the spam filter.

HERETIC

I'll say 10 "I love the car, but..." prayers as contrition.

Make sure you have [one of these](https://celebcandle.com/products/elon-musk-celebrity-prayer-candle).

I keep it right next to my Teslaquila bottle, Boring brick, and soil sample from the Holy Land...aka Austin factory.

You don't have an ampule of Saint Elon's semen? Amateur...

Of couse not. What a waste! Every time I find his semen on Ebay, I snatch it right up and inseminate my female relatives.

Never was.

I wonder if that's what the prayer candle smells like.

\*investors

Well, when TSLA is the real product...

So an expensive traditional Taxi then?

Well sure, I suppose. But seems spammy. In the old days, porn sites would buy "similar" URLs as popular sites. Not something to emulate if you want to be mainstream. Have you ever typed in ".com" for Electrek instead of ".co"? Yikes!

Subsidies

\*Starting by mid-2020.

So, a Taxi then with cruise control…. Got it. 😂

Confirmed: false advertisement

[removed]

~~Robo~~taxi

He can call them whore-cars. You don't pay them for the ride... you pay them to drive away afterward.

LOL so confident in FSD they had to put the safety driver in the the driver's seat. 🤣

[Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE)

They moved the Safety Operator from the passenger seat to the driver’s side. Then they mandated a loose hold on the steering wheel at all times. Next they’ll be wearing flame retardant jump suits and crash helmets, but the Robotaxi business is expanding like crazy!

They need a safety operator for the CEO….

Haha, thats exactly the response I get from the Tesla kids.

It is a Robot Operated By Operator TAXI.

It is robotaxi driver

the human behind the wheel is his own free person! fully autonomous.

That's an improvement. That's better than have them sitting on a passenger seat with no way to take control of the car.

> lock its brakes on the freeway for no reason Phantom brake?

So it's not a robotaxi it's just a dramatically less safe normal taxi?

Just getting ahead of the game. https://reason.com/2025/07/30/union-backed-boston-ordinance-would-require-drivers-in-driverless-waymos/

robo is short for robota which is Czech for slave. So it actually is named appropriately.

Ooh, Tesla FSD believers turning into sovereign citizens could be a crazy next step after robotaxi doesn't take over the taxi world this year.

The use of it is to keep the "true Tesla believers" on the bandwagon.

Tesla is so undervalued :-). Probably they reached the market cap value of all car companies combined with all stock symbols that start with the letter A. They are just that good.