"We think that we'll be able to have driverless Teslas doing paid rides next year," Musk said on Tesla's quarterly earnings call. He said Tesla currently offers an app-based ride-hailing service, with a safety driver, to employees in the San Francisco Bay ...

In California, Tesla will face an uphill climb in securing the needed permits to offer fully autonomous rides to paying customers.

Tesla workers are already hailing robotaxis as part of a test program, Musk says. But a full-blown service requires regulatory approval and could face challenges.