Tesla's new feature gives car access to another driver — like a robotaxi

A new Tesla feature called "Car Access" is rolling out to users, allowing Tesla car owners to grant another driver the ability to access their car — and it reminds us a lot of something Elon Musk promised last year.

Noticed by Teslarati and described in Tesla's updated Account Support page, the Car Access feature allows an additional person access to the vehicle and all Tesla app features except requesting roadside assistance and purchasing upgrades.

To grant access to another driver, users will have to log into their Tesla accounts, click on Manage, select Add Driver under Car Access, and enter the driver's name and email address. If the email address isn't associated to an existing Tesla account, the driver that's been added will get an email prompting them to create an account.

By itself, this is a nice little touch that may be useful in certain situations, such as having someone fetch a forgotten bag from the trunk. However, it may be a hugely important feature in the light of Tesla's upcoming ambitions of turning its vehicles into a robotaxi fleet.

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In 2019, Musk said Tesla owners would one day be able to turn their cars into autonomous taxis, who would ferry other people around for a fee when not needed by their owner. He also said that, with the feature enabled and regulatory approval in place, Tesla would one day be a competitor to Lyft and Uber, who are also working on autonomous driving.

At the time, Musk said he hoped Tesla could actually turn its robotaxi ambitions into reality in 2020 (he later amended that to 2021), but fully autonomous cars aren't even close to being widely approved yet. Still, with the Car Access feature, Tesla owners can at least try out what it would be like to rent out their car to another driver.