A Tesla robotaxi drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 3 A Tesla robotaxi drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez/File Photo

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July 25 (Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab is preparing to launch its robotaxi service in San Francisco as soon as this weekend, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal staff memo.

The company’s robotaxi business is still in its early stages, having only conducted a controlled test run in Austin, Texas, earlier this year.

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The geofenced area where the robotaxi service will operate covers a large swath of the Bay Area, including Marin, much of the East Bay, San Francisco and stretching south to San Jose, the report said.

The launch timeline has been moved up to as early as Friday and some Tesla owners will receive invites to use the service, according to the report.

CEO Elon Musk has shifted Tesla’s focus toward robots and self-driving taxis to counter declining sales for the electric automaker’s aging vehicle lineup.

Meanwhile, The Information reported that Tesla is well behind the pace necessary to meet Musk’s goal of producing at least 5,000 of its Optimus humanoid robots this year, having made only a few hundred of them.

Reuters could not independently verify the Business Insider and Information reports, while Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports.

During the earnings call this week, Musk said Tesla is getting regulatory permission to launch robotaxis in several states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

California regulators told Reuters on Wednesday Tesla had not yet applied for permits needed to pick up and charge passengers for rides in fully autonomous vehicles.

Companies need a series of permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission to test and deploy autonomous vehicles in the state.

The DMV and CPUC did not respond to requests for comment.

Regulatory hurdles pose a challenge to Tesla as it must gain the trust of safety officials before launching fully autonomous services.

Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Arun Koyyur

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