Photo source: FMT
Tesla is reportedly assembling a teleoperations team to support its forthcoming robotaxi service. A recent job advertisement indicates that the company is seeking a software engineer to develop a teleoperations system, allowing human operators to remotely control both its future robotaxis and humanoid robots.
The role, based in Palo Alto, will involve responsibilities such as “driving requirements, making design decisions, and implementing software integration for this custom teleoperation system.”
CEO Elon Musk has consistently highlighted Tesla’s ambition to achieve full autonomy through advanced neural network training and camera-based perception, asserting that human intervention would not be necessary. This indicates a strategic pivot in Tesla’s approach to launching its autonomous vehicles. Musk has previously predicted that Tesla would have over a million robotaxis operational by 2020.
In the autonomous vehicle industry, teleoperations are seen as a crucial component for deploying self-driving cars. Companies like Waymo already utilise teleoperation systems to manage specific scenarios, including construction zones, accidents, and hardware failures.
Decisions made by remote operators also contribute valuable training data for Level 4 autonomous operations, which are defined as systems capable of driving independently under certain conditions without human intervention.
Tesla is not entirely new to teleoperations. During the “We, Robot” event in October, remote operators controlled Optimus bots to interact with guests. However, operating robotaxis will present different requirements.
The user interface and controls for robotaxis are likely to resemble traditional driving controls and include features such as real-time mapping and decision-making support for complex situations. In contrast, the interface for robots would be tailored to specific tasks. Robotaxis will also require robust communication capabilities over extensive areas, and operators may need to log interventions for later analysis of incidents or edge cases.
Last month, Tesla launched its robotaxi prototype—a Cybercab designed without steering wheels or pedals and capable of carrying two passengers. Musk stated that production of this vehicle is expected to commence in 2026 or 2027. He also expressed intentions to launch a service allowing individuals to hail self-driving Teslas in California and Texas by 2025, claiming that testing is already underway in the Bay Area with employees.
It remains uncertain whether Tesla’s emerging teleoperations team will focus exclusively on purpose-built robotaxis or also assist Tesla vehicles owned by everyday consumers on the road today. Musk has long claimed that existing Tesla vehicles could achieve full autonomy through an over-the-air software update. However, he has since moderated those assertions.