Glimpses of gold-colored Tesla Cybercabs tooling around city streets in recent days have raised questions about whether the electric vehicle company is looking to expand its autonomous robotaxi service into San Diego.
Tesla officials have not responded to multiple emails from the Union-Tribune about any plans to start testing, mapping and gathering data for potential business in the city, nor did the company make comments about multiple reported sightings of the distinctive-looking vehicles spotted in neighborhoods such as East Village, Pacific Beach, Sorrento Valley and around San Diego International Airport.
Judging from photos and short videos, the vehicles appear to fit the description of a Tesla Cybercab prototype — a futurtistic two-seat robotaxi concept model with a gold exterior, no side mirrors, no rearview window and no steering wheel inside, just a screen.
An official with the Metropolitan Transit System told the Union-Tribune that MTS is not aware of Tesla performing any autonomous vehicle testing program in San Diego. In a separate email, a spokesperson for the city of San Diego echoed those remarks.
But local jurisdictions do not have a say in how and when autonomous ride-hailing services roll out in California.
Testing and deployment of AVs are regulated by state agencies and according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Tesla Robotaxi LLC holds a permit to “test with a safety driver authorized to test on any public road” within the state.
Through the California Public Utilities Commission, Tesla has received a Transportation Charter-Party (TCP) permit that allows for a human driver to operate a traditional vehicle — but not an autonomous vehicle — for charter services with the public.
A spokesperson for the commission said in an email Thursday that Tesla “has not requested nor been granted any changes to their TCP permit since it was approved.”
If Tesla moves into the San Diego robotaxi space, it will face competition because Waymo has a head start.
The Silicon Valley-based company already spent months zipping around town in light-blue all-electric Zeekr RT minivans assessing Waymo software with a human in the front seat and last month, the company announced the vehicles will go into fully autonomous mode to further enhance the company’s testing of San Diego roads and freeways.
Waymo is driving and collecting information in neighborhoods such as Pacific Beach, Normal Heights, La Playa in Point Loma, South Crest and other areas within the city limits — although not as far north as La Jolla.
The company expects to provide robotaxi trips to the public by the end of this year.
“Take that first ride with us, and we believe it’ll be quite a magical experience,” Waymo’s group project manager told the Union-Tribune in a November interview.
As for Tesla, the company already operates robotaxi services without a human behind the wheel in seven cities, including San Francisco, Miami, Tampa and Austin. In its second-quarter earnings report last month, the company said it began Cybercab production at its Gigafactory in Texas.
For more than two years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has declared he’s staking his company’s future on investments in robotics, autonomous vehicle technology and artificial intelligence.
Tesla’s gold Cybercab prototypes have also been spotted around Los Angeles.
MotorTrend magazine posted photos on Wednesday of the autonomous coupe at a charging station in Culver City.
And earlier this week, a TikTok video shared by automotive social media outlet CarSpex spied the two-seater moving its way out of a parking spot and onto a residential street in West L.A.
But for all the social media hoopla, the potential dawn of the AV Age has received its share of pushback.
In January, the MTS Board of Directors on a 12-1 vote approved a resolution opposing the expansion of Waymo robotaxis, citing concerns over potential job losses for cab drivers, safety issues and robotaxis possibly blocking first responders.
“Autonomous vehicles don’t just change how people move. They literally replace people,” said San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who is also chair of the Taxi Advisory Committee.