Tesla's Ride-Hailing Growth: What's Really Going On?

California has seen a surge in Tesla's ride-hailing vehicles. Over 1, 655 cars have been added to the fleet since the service started in August. However, the true number might be higher. Here's why: companies don't have to report every new driver they hire. So, the official count might not show the whole story. Tesla's ride-hailing service in California isn't fully autonomous. It's not registered as a driverless fleet, and Tesla hasn't asked for a driverless permit. This has made some officials uneasy. Meanwhile, other companies like Waymo and Zoox are also growing their fleets. Waymo, backed by Alphabet, has over 1, 955 autonomous vehicles registered. Zoox, owned by Amazon, has 229 vehicles.Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has said they've been testing driverless Robotaxis in Austin. A Model Y was seen driving without anyone inside. Additionally, an updated Tesla Cybercab was spotted in Austin, but it's unclear if it was being driven by a human or operating on its own. In other news, a power outage in San Francisco temporarily stopped Waymo's Robotaxi fleet. Several Waymo Jaguar I-Pace Robotaxis were left stranded. The outage affected over 130, 000 customers in the city. Tesla has faced some tough times this year. Their sales have dropped, and a court recently suspended their license to make and sell vehicles in California. The court's decision was based on Tesla's marketing around the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features, which the court found misleading. It's important to note that Tesla's vehicles still need a human driver for autonomous driving.