SAN FRANCISCO, California: Tesla is rolling out a new ride service in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it won't be the fully autonomous robotaxis CEO Elon Musk has long promised.

Instead, the electric vehicle maker will offer a human-driven, chauffeur-style service to a limited group of users, according to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Despite recent statements from Musk and Tesla executives about regulatory progress, the company does not currently hold the necessary permits to deploy self-driving vehicles in California, the regulator clarified on Friday.

Tesla's upcoming Bay Area service will rely on human drivers operating traditional vehicles, not autonomous ones. The company told the CPUC it intends to offer rides to "friends and family of employees" and "select members of the public" under a charter permit it already holds. This allows Tesla to provide transportation as long as a licensed human driver is behind the wheel.

The service may use Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature, which can perform many driving functions, but state law does not classify that as autonomous driving since the human driver is expected to remain in control at all times.

The clarification comes after some confusion caused by Musk's comments during an earnings call this week. He said Tesla was "getting the regulatory permission to launch" robotaxi services in specific markets, including the Bay Area. Business Insider reported that a robotaxi service was imminent, but Tesla has not applied for any of the permits required to operate autonomous vehicles in California.

Ashok Elluswamy, who heads Tesla's self-driving team, said during the same earnings call that the company would launch a robotaxi program "with the person in the driver's seat… while we wait for regulatory approval."

Tesla has been testing a limited autonomous pilot in Austin, Texas, using Model Y SUVs where human safety monitors sit in the front passenger seat. However, in California, the CPUC said Tesla "is not allowed to test or transport the public" in any vehicle operating autonomously, even if a safety driver is present.

To run a paid robotaxi service in California, companies must first go through a pilot phase and secure multiple permits from both the CPUC and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Tesla has not yet begun that process.