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Tesla's service requires safety drivers in California due

to

CPUC regulations

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Tesla plans rides for employees' friends and family under

existing permit

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Tesla must apply for CPUC license for autonomous vehicle

operations

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Musk says Tesla seeks regulatory approval for robotaxis in

multiple markets

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Tesla's robotaxi service uses supervised Full Self-Driving

software in Bay Area

July 26 (Reuters) - Tesla sent robotaxi users a new

terms-of-service agreement detailing its planned launch in

California's Bay Area, Business Insider reported citing a

screenshot of the notification sent to users on Saturday.

The notification said, "If your ride is taking place in

California, it is being conducted with a safety driver using

Full Self-Driving (Supervised) pursuant to authority from the

California Public Utilities Commission," adding that rides taken

outside California are "conducted autonomously," confirming

Reuters reporting from a day earlier.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported earlier that unlike Alphabet's Waymo

unit, Tesla cannot operate its service using autonomous vehicles

in the Bay Area because the EV maker does not have the required

permits and has not applied according to the California Public

Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Tesla said the service would use a variant of its supervised

Full Self-Driving software, the report said.

For the Bay Area service, Tesla may be able to use its Full

Self-Driving (Supervised) feature, which can perform many

driving tasks but requires a human driver to pay attention and

be ready to take over at all times.

This week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call that the

company was "getting the regulatory permission to launch"

robotaxis in several markets, including the San Francisco Bay

Area.

Tesla told the CPUC on Thursday that it plans to offer rides

to "friends and family of employees" and "select members of the

public" under a permit the company has that allows a human

driver to transport passengers in a "traditional vehicle" for

"charter services."

Tesla recently met with the agency but has not applied for

additional permits that would be needed to collect fares or test

without a safety driver, Reuters reported earlier this week.

The next step for Tesla would be to apply for a CPUC license

for an autonomous vehicle to pick up passengers with a safety

driver, according to a review of California's autonomous driving

regulations. But companies must first operate a pilot phase,

where they cannot charge customers.