Elon Musk's Tesla may be paying employees extra to become Robotaxi 'drivers'

Tesla is said to be hiring factory floor workers and salespeople to become "AI operators" for its self-driving ride-sharing service. The electric car manufacturer, led by Elon Musk, is reportedly offering overtime and shifts to staff willing to monitor its Robotaxi cars.

According to a report by Business Insider, a poster at Tesla’s offices in California appears to show the company is looking to hire production associates and material handlers to increase the availability of its “Robotaxi” service in the Bay Area.These operators are required to sit in the driver's seat, "actively monitoring the vehicle while Tesla's Full Self-Driving software is engaged, and taking over when needed," as the company eventually plans to release the software as a fully autonomous service.The recruitment effort extends beyond factory lines to include engineering and sales departments as well. The report cited LinkedIn profiles to claim that employees in Nevada and Arizona have already transitioned into similar operator roles in Las Vegas and Phoenix. To accelerate hiring, Tesla is also offering a $500 bonus to staff who refer candidates for the AI operator positions.

How Tesla’s new recruitment drive will help the company

Bringing on more operators could help Tesla provide faster service.

After Tesla made its Robotaxi app available to everyone in September, waiting times increased sharply, with some riders posting on social media about waits of up to 40 minutes and a lack of available cars.The report also cited Robotaxi users who claimed to have experienced wait times of around 10 minutes in the Bay Area. During busy travel hours, the app sometimes says it can't offer a ride due to "high service demand."Tesla completed certification of its own service in Nevada and Arizona last month. It hasn't yet requested a license from the Nevada Transportation Authority to start a paid service. Still, it does have approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate a commercial service in that state, representatives from both agencies told Business Insider. The company hasn't started offering paid rides in either state yet.In August, the company launched its Bay Area taxi service. It isn't registered as a self-driving vehicle service in California; it operates with human drivers because California has more stringent regulations on self-driving cars than most other states, which use a trust-based system in which companies approve their own vehicles.Tesla has permission from the California Public Utilities Commission to provide rides to employees and some members of the public as a regular car service with a driver.

The agency has made it clear that Tesla does not have permission to carry around regular people in a self-driving car.Tesla now has 1,655 vehicles and 798 drivers registered for its taxi service in California, a CPUC spokesperson said. Tesla is required to update the agency over time as it continues adding new cars into the fleet, but not drivers. The registration count reflects how many vehicles are cleared to operate, but not necessarily how many are on the road at any one time.In December 2024, Tesla registered over 220 test drivers and 100 vehicles for a permit with the California Department of Motor Vehicles that would let it test its self-driving software with a test driver present.