Deployment
Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) at San Francisco Bay Area
Tesla's robotaxi service vehicle, a 2026 Model Y operating with Tesla's Autonomous Driving System (ADS, based on Full Self-Driving) engaged. In Austin, some vehicles operate unsupervised (no in-car safety monitor); in the Bay Area, a safety driver is present as required by California law. A teleoperator can remotely assist/pilot a vehicle at speeds under 10 mph for repositioning. Tesla's purpose-built, steering-wheel-free Cybercab, intended as the dedicated robotaxi vehicle at scale, was expected to begin production around April 2026 (not yet the deployed service vehicle as of early 2026). Maturity: pilot (early commercial service under heavy supervision and scrutiny; not yet at-scale).
Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) by Tesla · Operated by Tesla · Machine verified
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /deployments/tesla-robotaxi-sf-bay-area.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/robots/918e559c-f754-4a4c-8d7d-ade0a30f238a
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Operator: Tesla. Tesla holds a CPUC TCP (charter-party / passenger-transportation) permit for the Bay Area ride-hailing service, operated in SUPERVISED mode (Level 2 - a safety driver monitors and can take over; not unsupervised AV). ~1,655 vehicles were registered with CPUC for the service as of late May 2026, but the active operating fleet is small and declining: approximately 9 active in late May 2026, down from a peak of ~168 active in January 2026. The large registered count versus the tiny active fleet is the key distinction (registered is not the same as operating). Tesla must accumulate supervised miles before it can apply for fully-driverless (unsupervised) permits in California.
Key facts
- Supervision
- Supervised (L2), safety driver required by CA law
- Fleet
- ~168 vehicles (early 2026, Tesla's largest market)
- Vehicle
- 2026 Model Y with ADS
Exposure
- Customer segment
- consumer
- Scale tier
- mass 100 999
Each exposure value carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Safety record
No incidents on record for Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) at San Francisco Bay Area.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
- Trust tier
- Machine verifiedhow tiers work →
- Last updated
- 2026-07-10
- Company
- Tesla
- Location
- United States/San Francisco Bay Area
- Operator
- Tesla
- Status
- operational
- Operator type
- maker operated
- First seen
- 2025-09-01
- ID
918e559c-f754-4a4c-8d7d-ade0a30f238a
Timeline
- Sep 2025First recordedTesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) first documented operating at San Francisco Bay Area.
- May 2026created
- Jul 2026Current status: operational, reviewedLatest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.
Claimed vs. verified
Tesla claims 1,000 Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) units in the field. DEPLOY has independently verified 6 deployment sites and 1,000 units.
The gap between claimed and verified is the Fleet Reality signal. See the Fleet Reality Index.
On the deployment map
Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) operates in San Francisco Bay Area. Explore the full verified map:
Verifications (1)
- Machine verified by DEPLOY content-agent (Sprint 1.5 re-verification)2026-05-30
- asOf
- 2026-05-30
- basis
- Tesla robotaxi active in the SF Bay Area in SUPERVISED mode (L2, safety driver) under a CPUC TCP charter-party permit; ~9 active as of late May 2026, down from a ~168 peak in Jan 2026; ~1,655 vehicles registered with CPUC. Registered is not the same as active operating (text framing only; structural distinction pending schema).
- status
- active
Sources (4)
- https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/regulatory-services/licensing/transportation-licensing-and-analysis-branch/autonomous-vehicle-programs/autonomous-vehicle-program-permits-issued
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/18/what-tesla-can-and-cant-do-in-california-with-its-new-passenger-transportation-permit/
- https://electrek.co/2026/05/26/tesla-robotaxi-fleet-shrinking-not-growing/
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/22/tesla-launches-robotaxi-rides-in-austin-with-big-promises-and-unanswered-questions/
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-10
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: pilot
Lifecycle: active
Architectural position
Cohort: av
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 2
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) at San Francisco Bay Area.Common questions
- What is the Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) deployment at San Francisco Bay Area?
- Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS), built by Tesla, is recorded as a deployment at San Francisco Bay Area on the DEPLOY registry. Tesla operates the deployment directly.
- Who operates Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) at San Francisco Bay Area?
- Tesla, the manufacturer of Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
- When did the Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) deployment at San Francisco Bay Area go live?
- The deployment is recorded as starting September 1, 2025 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
- Have there been incidents at the Tesla Robotaxi (Model Y ADS) deployment at San Francisco Bay Area?
- No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.
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