Officials from NHTSA and the California State Transport Agency were reportedly alarmed by Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) ride-hailing expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Concerns Over Ride-Hailing Misconceptions
State officials said that Tesla did not apply for the necessary permits to conduct autonomous ride-hailing operations within the state and its ride-hailing expansion was conducted via pre-arranged trips for select invitees in human-driven vehicles under a license typically reserved for limousines and not on-demand ride-hailing, Reuters reported on Monday.
Benzinga reached out to Tesla for comment and is awaiting a response.
Emails exchanged between officials and Tesla employees showcased that the regulators asked about Tesla's plans to quell misconceptions about its Bay Area operations.
"Do you have plans to publicly clarify the nature of Tesla's expanding Bay Area operations to dispel the confusion," Emily Warren, a California state official cited in the report, asked Tesla, to which an employee responded that the company does not answer press inquiries but customers would get Robotaxi updates "when they become available," the report said.
Tesla's Ride-Hailing Expansion, Elon Musk's Ambitious Target
The news comes as Tesla expanded its Robotaxi operations in Austin, which now also operates on the highways with the onboard safety monitor being moved to the driver's seat from the front passenger seat. Interestingly, this move coincides with Texas updating its self-driving regulations.
Meanwhile, Tesla has obtained the permit to conduct testing operations in Arizona, with state officials confirming that the EV giant will conduct testing operations within the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Tesla also posted a job listing on its official website, outlining its search for safety operators to help conduct its Robotaxi’s testing operations in NYC. The EV giant offered over $33/hr for the position, the listing said.
Musk had, during the second-quarter earnings call earlier this year, laid out the ambitious target to serve over half the population of the U.S. with Tesla robotaxis by the end of the year.
Tesla's Updated FSD Terminology, New Pay Package
Interestingly, Tesla has also changed the meaning of its FSD or Full Self-Driving system, which now states that the FSD currently offered in cars does not make the vehicle capable of autonomous driving.
Tesla also unveiled a new compensation package for Musk, which could, if all the stipulated milestones and conditions are met, make Musk the first-ever trillionaire. The milestones include 10 million active FSD subscriptions and a million Robotaxis, among others.
The SEC filing for Musk's pay package also included a definition for the FSD system. "FSD” means an advanced driving system, regardless of the marketing name used, that is capable of performing transportation tasks that provide autonomous or similar functionality under specified driving conditions," it said.
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