Tesla has begun notifying users of its Robotaxi app that rides in California’s San Francisco Bay Area will initially be offered with a safety driver under a “friends and family” charter service, according to a terms-of-service update cited by Business Insider and confirmed by state regulators. The notice says trips will employ the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software but will operate pursuant to authority from the California Public Utilities Commission, which limits operations to vehicles with human oversight. The CPUC told Reuters it has received Tesla’s plan to extend operations under its existing charter-party carrier permit to employees’ friends, relatives and select members of the public. That permit allows only traditional, driver-operated transport, meaning Tesla must apply for additional licenses before it can charge fares or remove the driver. Unlike Alphabet’s Waymo, Tesla has not sought the state’s autonomous deployment permits. The California rollout follows a small, invite-only pilot launched in Austin on 22 June that uses supervised Model Y SUVs. On last week’s earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Tesla is securing regulatory approval for robotaxi services in several U.S. markets, including Florida and Arizona. The California initiative comes as the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles pursues a separate case accusing Tesla of overstating the capabilities of its driver-assistance systems.