Tesla is eyeing Los Angeles for its Robotaxi operation, a new job posting from the company suggests, as it aims to expand its service area in California.

Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi platform in California for several months now, first launching it in July in the Bay Area, spanning from San Francisco to San Jose, giving those who have access to the ride-hailing suite a pretty substantial service area to travel within.

However, the California operation is far from complete, as Tesla is aiming to expand to Los Angeles, a city that sits roughly seven hours south of San Francisco, but is among the most popular markets for its vehicles.

LA is also an ideal location for Robotaxi expansion because of its reputation as a hotspot for ride-sharing services.

Tesla is hiring a Vehicle Operator for its Robotaxi program in Marina Del Rey, a seaside community in Los Angeles County, located near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and several other hotspots. It is a frequent location of travel for tourists, making it ideal for Robotaxi:

Tesla Robotaxi expanding to Los Angeles… 👀 pic.twitter.com/ULBDmgl8Yq

— Jonathan Stokes (@jonathanwstokes) September 30, 2025

There is a substantial difference between how Tesla operates Robotaxi in California compared to Texas, the other state that currently allows passengers to hail a ride through the Tesla Robotaxi app.

In Texas, the majority of rides are considered “driverless,” as there is nobody sitting in the driver’s seat.

This applies to any ride that does not utilize any of the Texas freeways, as highways will require a driver in the seat, something Tesla did when its geofence in Austin expanded to include interstates.

Tesla adjusts Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin with new service area

In California, things are a bit different. The “Safety Monitor” sits in the driver’s seat, regardless of destination or route. This has drawn some criticism, but Tesla has taken this step in an effort to keep passengers and traffic as safe as possible, recognizing that this is essential for these early rides.

Eventually, and potentially as soon as the end of this year, Tesla could remove Safety Monitors from vehicles altogether, as CEO Elon Musk has hinted this is a possibility.

SpaceX is targeting Monday, October 13, for the eleventh test flight of its Starship launch system. The launch window is expected to open at 6:15 p.m. CT. 

Similar to past Starship missions, a live webcast will begin about 30 minutes before launch on SpaceX’s website, X account, and X TV app. As with all SpaceX tests, the estimated timeline for Starship Flight 11 remains subject to change based on conditions and readiness.

Super Heavy booster landing test

The upcoming mission will build on the data gathered from Starship’s tenth test flight, focusing on booster performance and upper-stage capabilities. The Super Heavy booster, previously flown on Flight 8, will launch with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines, according to SpaceX in a blog post on its official website. Its primary objective is to validate a new landing burn engine configuration designed for the next generation of Super Heavy.

Instead of returning to Starbase, the Super Heavy booster will follow a trajectory toward the Gulf of America. During descent, it will ignite 13 engines before transitioning to a five-engine divert phase and then completing the landing burn with three central engines, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America.

Starship upper-stage experiments

The Starship upper stage for Flight 11 will carry out a series of in-space demonstrations, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators that are comparable in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. These payloads will reenter and burn up during descent. A planned Raptor engine relight in orbit will also provide valuable test data.

To evaluate the upper stage’s resilience during reentry, SpaceX engineers have intentionally removed heat shield tiles from select areas to stress-test Starship’s thermal protection system. The vehicle will attempt new maneuvers during descent, including a banking profile and subsonic guidance algorithms intended to simulate future return-to-launch-site missions. The upper stage will ultimately target a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX has already posted a link to the livestream for Starship Flight 11: 

The U.S. Army Customs Agency news release has stated that the Tesla Cybertruck cannot be imported or registered in Germany or the wider European Union. This was because the vehicle had failed to obtain EU type-approval due to passive safety violations, with regulators citing risks tied to its stainless-steel body and design. 

The ruling effectively bars U.S. Forces personnel from legally operating the vehicle on German roads.

As per the news release, U.S. Forces submitted an inquiry to the German Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT) about the possibility for members to import and register the all-electric pickup truck in the USAREUR-AF system. Following a legal review, the “German Ministry of Transport denied the request, because the Tesla Cybertruck not only fails to meet the EU legal requirements but deviates significantly from them.” 

Officials argued that the vehicle falls far short of EU requirements, particularly those aimed at protecting pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users. The Cybertruck’s sharp edges and weight classification also reportedly exceed thresholds that mandate impact protection zones and additional safety features.

“The Cybertruck has no type-approval from the European Union (EU) due to significant passive safety concerns. Several specifications of the Cybertruck, particularly the sharp-edged, stiff stainless-steel body, violate EU safety standards, primarily for the protection of vulnerable road users.

“EU safety standards do not only focus on the safety of the vehicle occupants but also on the safety of other road users and in particular of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. These standards require, for example, passive safety features such as impact protection zones prohibiting sharp edges on the vehicle body and speed limiters on vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons – requirements clearly violated by the Cybertruck,” the release read.

Officials also shared concerns about the Cybertruck’s eye-catching design, which might reportedly put drivers in danger. “Another concern is that the Cybertruck would attract a lot of attention when operated in public traffic. This would defeat the purpose of issuing USAREUR-AF cover plates for force protection,” the release noted.

With these decisions in mind, personnel who opt to import Cybertrucks into Germany could end up shipping their vehicles back to the United States at their own expense.