Tesla has just rolled out its Robotaxi service in Austin, but it seems to have its eyes set on a much bigger challenge — implementing self-driving in India.
Tesla is hiring for Autopilot Vehicle Operators in Mumbai and Delhi. “We are looking for a highly motivated self-starter to join our vehicle data collection team,” the job listing says. “As a Prototype Vehicle Operator, you will be responsible for driving an engineering vehicle for extended periods, conducting dynamic audio and camera data collection for testing and training purposes. Access to the data collected is limited to the applicable development team. This role requires a high level of flexibility, strong attention to detail, excellent driving skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment,” it adds.
Tesla says that the role will require the driver to drive an engineering vehicle for extended hours in a designated area for data collection, 5 to 8 hours daily. The driver will need to start and stop recording devices and also perform minor equipment and software debugging. They’ll also need to analyze and report of the quality of data collected on each shift, and provide feedback and suggest improvements in data collection. They’ll also need to write detailed daily reports to document observations and issues. Tesla highlights that familiarity with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving Systems (ADS) would be a plus for the role.
In the past, Tesla has introduced such positions in areas where it has launched self-driving, or plans to do so in the near future. Austin, where Tesla is already running its Robotaxi service, has the exact same role listed, but named “Vehicle Operator, Robotaxi”. In San Francisco, Tesla has a job opening named “Vehicle Operator, Autopilot”, the same as in Mumbai. In Austin, Tesla has workers sitting in the passenger seat on self-driving trips, but it’s unclear if this is the same position.
But it would be a massive upscale in capabilities if Tesla is even considering launching self driving in India. India’s traffic is notoriously chaotic, with most people not driving within lanes, or giving indicators before turns. There are other issues to contend with, such as cows and other stray animals on streets, few traffic signs, and widespread breaking of traffic rules, which means people often can end up driving on entirely the wrong side of the road.
Tesla has gingerly launched in a few US cities, but navigating Indian traffic would be a whole different ballgame. It’s possible Tesla is just collecting data from India to improve its self-driving in other parts of the world, or it could be trying to make a version of FSD available in the cars it sells in India. And while there are a smattering of Indian self-driving companies, Tesla’s entry into the space, even if to collect data, would show that Tesla believes that self-driving could one day be a possibility on Indian roads. Elon Musk has made electric vehicles mainstream, sent rockets into space, and made people operate computers with just their minds, but if Tesla is really trying to bring self-driving to India, he might have taken up his biggest challenge yet.