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Pat Tsen, the deputy executive director for consumer policy, transportation, and enforcement at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), confirmed that Tesla’s ride-hailing operation is classified as a standard chauffeur service — not a “robotaxi” — and is subject to none of the safety reporting and data transparency requirements imposed on actual autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo and Zoox.
“Tesla is not operating an autonomous vehicle service. So in California we define autonomous vehicles to be those that are SAE level three — meaning that the onboard AI system is capable of navigating designated road conditions within an operational design domain on its own. Tesla is a level two system and so they do not have a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission and my understanding is that they do not have a permit with the DMV either.”
“What they have from us is essentially a charter party carrier permit. It is the same type of permit that a limousine company would get from the CPUC to provide a limousine service. So in terms of our view of the person who is sitting in the driver’s seat, that is the driver. That is not a safety driver. So even if they’re using a tool to help them drive autonomously, there is a driver in the safety seat.”