A content creator attracted attention online after posting a video about his experience riding in one of Tesla's self-driving taxis in San Francisco, according to NDTV.
"Today, I am trying out robotaxi by Elon Musk here in California," said Ishan Sharma to open the video, which he posted on X for his 200,000-plus followers. "Let's book a ride and see how it goes."
Sharma then showed himself using an app to hail a ride. When the Tesla pulled up, a human operator was sitting in the driver's seat as a safety monitor, as local regulations require — in contrast to how Tesla initially operated the service in Austin, Texas, with only a hired associate in the passenger seat for added safety. Sharma took only a five-minute ride, for which he said he paid $4.50.
Just tried Robotaxi by Elon Musk in bay area and loved the experience!🤯 pic.twitter.com/2LuVh1zFm9
— Ishan Sharma (@Ishansharma7390) September 22, 2025
"This is the future of taxis," Sharma declared in his video, adding that he "loved" the experience.
"Future really pulled up to the curb," one commenter wrote.
Also in San Francisco, Waymo, by far the market leader in offering paid rides via self-driving vehicles, has been operating fully autonomous rides in the famously tech-forward city since June 2024.
Unlike Tesla, Waymo is not required to have a human safety monitor on board, making its vehicles truly autonomous. In fact, according to the company, Waymo already has offered over 10 million truly autonomous rides across a half-dozen cities, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta, in addition to San Francisco.
Zoox, which is a subsidiary of Amazon, is also testing in the Bay Area, with fuller testing in Las Vegas.
The good news is that, whether riders choose Tesla or Waymo or Zoox, the environment wins. This is because each company operates fleets of exclusively electric vehicles, which are responsible for far less planet-overheating pollution per mile than gas-powered cars.
If you want to achieve these same environmental benefits every day while also saving yourself thousands of dollars per year in fuel costs, you can upgrade your car to an electric vehicle.
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To take these environmental benefits and cost savings even further, you can pair your EV with home solar. Charging an EV off home solar costs less than charging off the grid or at a public charging station, plus you have the added benefit of knowing that your car is being powered by cleaner, renewable energy from the sun.
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