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).

The Tesla CEO said the company expects to expand their autonomous driver service to include customer-owned cars.

Elon Musk had more bold projections for Tesla's robotaxi. But investors didn't get much insight on the Austin launch during Wednesday's earnings call.

Chinese robotaxi operator Pony AI said on Saturday it had received a permit to provide fully driverless commercial robotaxi services in Shanghai's Pudong financial district.

Uber Just Made a Huge Investment in Its Robotaxi Future. Here's What Investors Need to Know.

L.A. Times business reporter Caroline Petrow-Cohen wrote about it.

Waymo’s robotaxis are fully driverless and expanding fast, while Tesla’s service is still limited and invite-only. The gap is bigger than you think.

Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service in California's Bay Area. The service will initially include safety drivers. This is because Tesla lacks the necessary permits for fully autonomous operation in that region.

WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), a global leader of autonomous driving technology, has been granted a permit from the Shanghai municipal government to operate regulation-compliant, Level 4 (L4) autonomous Robotaxi ride-hailing services.