Vay hires its first teledriver to remotely operate its vehicles in the US

Four months after announcing plans to bring its rental EV delivery service over from Europe to the US, Vay has hired its first teledriver – the first of many who will soon be remotely operating EVs throughout the country without a human physically present.

Vay is a German teledriving rideshare company originally based in Berlin that has taken a remote-first approach to driverless vehicles in which an operator drives one of the EVs in the fleet from a dedicated hub.

Although Vay is working to gradually introduce more autonomous driving functions in its system as they become permitted to do so, its service currently relies on teledrivers, whose focus is the driverless delivery of rental EVs to customers. Those customers can then hop in the EV, drive off, and park whenever they are done, enabling Vay to step back in and remotely drive the vehicle back to base.

After operating its first vehicle without a driver present in Hamburg this past February, Vay declared itself the first and only company to do so on European roads. As an encore this past May, Vay followed up with plans to operate in the US. Today, the company has officially hired its first teledriver in the US.

Vay hires its first US teledriver operating out of Las Vegas

Earlier today, Vay introduced Antonella Siracusa-Rosa as its very first US teledriver after completing a thorough training program via the company’s teledrive academy. Siracusa-Rosa is the first of hopefully many future drivers to operate out of Vay’s Las Vegas headquarters, which officially began operations this past May.

Vay’s first US teledriver is no stranger to mobility startups, having worked at both Zoox and Elon Musk’s Boring Company. Siracusa-Rosa spoke about her latest role:

I’m absolutely thrilled to embark on this incredible journey as Vay’s first teledriver in the US. Being part of Vay’s outstanding team and sharing in their visionary mission feels like stepping into the future. Together we will change the way people move in cities.

With her new role established, Siracusa-Rosa will hone her focus on testing Vay’s teledriving technology on the road as the company looks to begin operations of its first commercial service in the US. The company’s US general manager, Caleb Varner, also spoke:

Having local talent like Antonella on our team strengthens our presence and local understanding in Las Vegas. With Antonella joining the team, it feels like the beginning of something big! Our teledrivers form the essential foundation for delivering our door-to-door mobility service, and all at an affordable and competitive price.

When commercial operations begin, Siracusa-Rosa will be the first remotely delivering EVs to rental car customers in Las Vegas and possibly beyond as the company looks to expand its service throughout the US in the future. Keep an eye out for that as well as other remotely operated vehicles from startups like Halo.Car and Einride.