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Tesla preps a remote control team for robotaxi
Tesla has confirmed through a new job listing that it plans to establish a 'teleoperation' team to remote control its upcoming robotaxi fleet.
It's something that Tesla really needs in order to deliver a robotaxi service, and something that market leader Waymo has already deployed.
Teleoperation involves controlling the robotaxi by a human through remote control. It is old technology and has been around for 40 years. This is not level 5 full autonomy.
Waymo and Tesla have widely different approaches to self-driving.
The former is using a variety of sensors from cameras to lidars and operates its self-driving ride-hailing service, which is already commercially available in several markets, in geo-fenced areas that are mapped.
As for Tesla, the automaker relies entirely on cameras and neural networks, which it plans to train to the level of being capable of operating anywhere autonomously.
Elon Musk has often dismissed Waymo's strategy as "not being scalable" due to the mapping and geo-fencing issues.
But now there's one thing that Tesla is taking from Waymo's approach: teleoperation.
Waymo can be a bit vague when talking about the level of teleoperation with its vehicles, but we know that the vehicles can send a "stuck" alert and a team of remote Waymo employees can debug them.
Waymo robotaxi's normal operations are autonomous. It's only when the vehicles are stuck and they can send alerts and remote Waymo employees can debug them.
Now, Tesla is also establishing a teleoperation team, according to a new job listing:
Tesla AI's Teleoperation team is charged with providing remote access to our robotaxis and humanoid robots. Our cars and robots operate autonomously in challenging environments. As we iterate on the AI that powers them, we need the ability to access and control them remotely. This requires building highly optimized low latency reliable data streaming over unreliable transports in the real world. At Tesla, we control the entire hardware and software stack, end to end. Our goal is to integrate our hardware, firmware and backend expertise to achieve a cutting-edge system. Our remote operators are transported into the device's world using a state-of-the-art VR rig that allows them to remotely perform complex and intricate tasks. Working with hardware teams, you will drive requirements, make design decisions and implement software integration for this custom teleoperation system.
The job is specifically for C++ Software Engineer and the main responsibility is to develop the application that the remote operators will use to assist the robotaxis.
Tesla claims that it will start deploying fleets of robotaxis in California and Texas in Q2 2025. If Tesla's robotaxis are fully teleoperated, this is possible. Tesla needs to apply for permit to test its autonomous robotaxis. This will take at least 6 months to approve. Then it may need at least 6 months for testing. So if they are fully autonomous, it may not be possible even by the end of next year.
As for the humanoid robots, Tesla has already started to use them for simple tasks in its manufacturing facilities, but that's expected to ramp up next year.
This should enable Tesla to launch a service similar to Waymo without having to achieve a "superhuman level of miles between disengagement."
However, it wouldn't be exactly what Tesla promised: level 5 full autonomy.
Again, it would enable a similar service that Waymo has been offering for years. To be clear, Electrek is not against it. It will help Tesla deliver a useful robot ride-hailing service.
It will also be interesting to learn the level of teleoperation Tesla plans to deploy. For example, Waymo has confirmed that its remote team can answer questions from its vehicles to help unstuck them, but it's not clear if they can actually be remotely operated.
It will be ok if Tesla robotaxis are mostly autonomous and only be teleoperated if they are stuck. But it is not ok if Tesla's robotaxis are mostly teleoperated.
Tesla did lose some credibility on that front after its 'We, Robot' event after it didn't disclose that it's robots at the event were remotely controlled before demonstrating them.
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Silverbat : One of the big events in 2025
bullrider_21 OP : Don't confuse teleoperation with autonomy.
Lnova : first time I tried options, next time I’ll do a $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ call
Stock_Drift bullrider_21 OP : lol. Fair point.
bullrider_21 OP Lnova : You should have bought Tesla puts instead.
Lnova bullrider_21 OP : next time
Lnova : I don’t want the development or the incorporation of self-driving cars to be something that is rushed. I feel worried about it.
bullrider_21 OP Lnova : You're right. It must meet the safety standards. Tesla robotaxis must not be allowed to pass lax regulations and then meet with accidents.