Tesla’s self-driving taxi service is currently operating in Austin and the Bay Area, and it is expected to expand to more cities in the U.S. later this year.
When Tesla launched the Robotaxi program in Austin, it attracted attention because the cars could drive without a human behind the wheel. However, the vehicles still have safety monitors, usually sitting in the passenger seat. These monitors do not interact with passengers but can report any issues or unusual behavior from the car in real time.
In the Bay Area, safety monitors were also placed in the driver’s seat. Many EV enthusiasts thought this might be to follow California regulations. But as the Austin service area expanded, riders noticed that safety monitors in Austin cars were also moved to the driver’s seat.
New regulations for autonomous vehicles in Texas took effect on September 1.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) September 4, 2025
This is probably why Tesla's Robotaxi service has started operating on highways and moved the human supervisors from the front passenger seat to the drivers seat.
Questions for people who might be…
Tesla’s explanation
The change in Austin drew attention on social media. Longtime FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog guessed it might be related to new Texas regulations for autonomous vehicles. Tesla’s official Robotaxi account on X explained the reason:
“Safety monitors are only in the driver’s seat for trips that involve highway driving, as a self-imposed cautious first step toward expanding to highways.”
Tesla has been very careful with its self-driving program, especially with the Robotaxi service using Unsupervised FSD. This caution is understandable because media coverage of Tesla is often negative, and even small mistakes could be exaggerated.