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Tesla’s new job opening announces that the automaker is building a “teleoperation” team — employees who can remotely operate cars and other tech — as it prepares to launch its robotaxi service.
Why It Hits: Waymo, the biggest robotaxi company in the US, already has a teleoperation team in place… but what it can control is still limited. If Tesla is able to develop the tech to a point where the cars can be remotely piloted by employees miles (or even states) away in an emergency situation, riders may be more willing to give the tech a test ride.
Between the Lines: Tesla may be establishing the EV equivalent of Air Traffic Control.
- The company is searching for a software engineer to help build out the tech to service its coming robotaxi fleet and Optimus robots (which were remotely operated during Tesla’s We, Robot event last month).
- The software would allow Tesla operators to communicate with riders via the vehicle or robot, access applications, and ultimately, pilot them.
- Operators will be able to control them using a “state-of-the-art VR rig,” per the job posting.
- The robotaxis are set to launch in California and Texas during Q2 of next year, so the teleoperation team will need to hire quickly.
The Future: Unlike Waymo’s geo-fenced and digitally-mapped service areas, Tesla says that its service will use cameras and neural networks to autonomously operate vehicles anywhere in the world. Like many of Tesla’s lofty ambitions, that feels like a stretch… but the flexibility could lead to a software update of consumer fleet, allowing it to be driven by remote operators as well. You know, just in case.
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