Tesla is launching its Robotaxi, but some problems are causing the project to face pushbacks as Elon Musk is trying to launch the service in Austin, Texas. The driverless cab has been in the imagination of science lovers for a while, and the service is already available in a couple of cities in the United States. Alphabet’s Waymo has made over 200,000 trips so far, and Tesla is looking to compete in this market very soon with their vehicles. In China, competitors like Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide, and Pony.ai already operate their own Robotaxi fleets.
Tesla’s Robotaxi faces solid competition
Alphabet does not own a car factory like Tesla does, but has successfully cemented partnerships with Jaguar and Zeekr, one of the emerging electric vehicle companies that might compete with Tesla in the market as well. Waymo has its fleet with most Jaguar I-Pace, as the company recently received its brand-new cars.
The Robotaxi is one of the main projects Elon Musk is involved in right now. After leaving his job as a key advisor for Donald Trump, Musk and Tesla are working on the launch of the driverless cab. After already having to adapt the car to the requirements made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla must adapt once again after an incident in Austin.
The recent incident in the launch
The recent pushbacks in the project are due to several videos that surfaced online showing the company’s Robotaxis behaving erratically on public streets in Austin, Texas. Reports by outlets such as CNBC and Electrek came early this week.
The self-driving service launched in Austin on Sunday and was offered to a small group of invited riders. In the videos circulated online, one Robotaxi was seen driving the wrong way down a one-way street, while another stopped suddenly in traffic near a police scene.
A spokesperson for the NHTSA said that the agency is “aware of the incidents” and has been in contact with Tesla to gather more details. Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, and its regulatory counsel, Casey Blaine, have not yet responded to requests for comment.
The federal safety agency requires automakers to certify that their cars comply with federal safety standards. According to the NHTSA, it will investigate incidents that might point to a safety defect and take action if needed. The agency is already looking into possible defects related to Tesla’s FSD Beta, or “Full Self-Driving” technology, following a series of crashes that caused injuries and deaths.
The models being tested in Austin
The driverless cabs being tested in Austin are Model Y SUVs outfitted with the latest version of Tesla’s FSD Unsupervised hardware and software. Fewer than 24 vehicles are participating in the pilot program, which operates only during daylight and in good weather. All trips have a safety supervisor in the passenger seat.
The service is available to a select group of invited riders — mostly people who already support Tesla, own its stock, or have promoted the brand. Its launch boosted Tesla shares by 8% on Monday, but it still fell short of long-standing promises made by Musk over the years.
It was supposed to be launched a couple of years ago
In 2015, Musk announced that Tesla cars would be fully autonomous within three years. In 2016, he claimed a Tesla could drive itself across the U.S. by the end of 2017. In 2019, he told investors that the company would have a million Robotaxi-ready cars on the road by 2020, and that each one could operate for 100 hours a week, making money for its owners. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo announced it has surpassed 10 million paid trips as services continue to expand.
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