Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the “robotaxi launch” and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides.
Musk called the moment the “culmination of a decade of exertions” in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that “the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch inside Tesla.”
Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighborhood called South Congress with nobody in the driving force’s seat but one person within the passenger seat. The automaker planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as “safety monitors,” though it remained unclear how much control they’d over the vehicles.
In recent days, the automaker sent invites to a select group of influencers for a fastidiously monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being offered for a flat fee of $4.20, Musk said on X.
Tesla investor and social-media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X Sunday afternoon showing him ordering, getting picked up, and taking a ride to a close-by bar and restaurant, Frazier’s Long and Low, using a Tesla robotaxi app.
If Tesla succeeds with the small deployment, it still faces major challenges in delivering on Musk’s guarantees to scale up quickly in Austin and other cities, industry experts say.
It could take years or many years for Tesla and self-driving rivals, equivalent to Alphabet’s Waymo, to completely develop a robotaxi industry, said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor with expertise in autonomous-vehicle technology. A successful Austin trial for Tesla, he said, could be “the top of the start – not the start of the top.”
Most of Tesla’s sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, in accordance with many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world’s most beneficial automaker.
As Tesla’s robotaxi-rollout date approached, Texas lawmakers moved to enact autonomous-vehicle rules. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday signed laws requiring a state permit to operate self-driving vehicles.
The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, signals that state officials from each parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously.
Tesla didn’t reply to requests for comment. The governor’s office declined to comment.
The law softens the state’s previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars.
The brand new law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets and not using a human driver. It gives state authorities the ability to revoke permits for operators they deem a public danger.
The law also requires firms to supply information on how first responders can take care of their driverless vehicles in emergency situations.
The law’s permit requirements for an “automated motorcar” aren’t onerous but require firms to attest their vehicles can operate legally and safely. It defines an automatic vehicle as having at the least “Level 4” autonomous-driving capability under a recognized standard, meaning it might probably operate with no human driver under specified conditions. Level 5 autonomy is the highest level and means a automobile can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions.
Compliance stays far easier than in some states, notably California, which requires submission of vehicle-testing data under state oversight.
Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who focuses on autonomous driving, said it appears any company that meets minimum application requirements will get a Texas permit – but could also lose it if problems arise.
“California permits are hard to get, easy to lose,” he said. “In Texas, the permit is straightforward to get and straightforward to lose.”
The Tesla robotaxi rollout comes after greater than a decade of Musk’s unfulfilled guarantees to deliver self-driving Teslas.
Musk has said Tesla could be “super paranoid” about robotaxi safety in Austin, including operating in limited areas.
The service in Austin could have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and is not going to carry anyone below age 18.
Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been dangerous and expensive. GM’s Cruise was shut down after a serious accident. Regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox.
Tesla can be bucking the young industry’s standard practice of counting on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, Musk says, will likely be secure and far inexpensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.
Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the “robotaxi launch” and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides.
Musk called the moment the “culmination of a decade of exertions” in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that “the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch inside Tesla.”
Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighborhood called South Congress with nobody in the driving force’s seat but one person within the passenger seat. The automaker planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as “safety monitors,” though it remained unclear how much control they’d over the vehicles.
In recent days, the automaker sent invites to a select group of influencers for a fastidiously monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being offered for a flat fee of $4.20, Musk said on X.
Tesla investor and social-media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X Sunday afternoon showing him ordering, getting picked up, and taking a ride to a close-by bar and restaurant, Frazier’s Long and Low, using a Tesla robotaxi app.
If Tesla succeeds with the small deployment, it still faces major challenges in delivering on Musk’s guarantees to scale up quickly in Austin and other cities, industry experts say.
It could take years or many years for Tesla and self-driving rivals, equivalent to Alphabet’s Waymo, to completely develop a robotaxi industry, said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor with expertise in autonomous-vehicle technology. A successful Austin trial for Tesla, he said, could be “the top of the start – not the start of the top.”
Most of Tesla’s sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, in accordance with many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world’s most beneficial automaker.
As Tesla’s robotaxi-rollout date approached, Texas lawmakers moved to enact autonomous-vehicle rules. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday signed laws requiring a state permit to operate self-driving vehicles.
The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, signals that state officials from each parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously.
Tesla didn’t reply to requests for comment. The governor’s office declined to comment.
The law softens the state’s previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars.
The brand new law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets and not using a human driver. It gives state authorities the ability to revoke permits for operators they deem a public danger.
The law also requires firms to supply information on how first responders can take care of their driverless vehicles in emergency situations.
The law’s permit requirements for an “automated motorcar” aren’t onerous but require firms to attest their vehicles can operate legally and safely. It defines an automatic vehicle as having at the least “Level 4” autonomous-driving capability under a recognized standard, meaning it might probably operate with no human driver under specified conditions. Level 5 autonomy is the highest level and means a automobile can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions.
Compliance stays far easier than in some states, notably California, which requires submission of vehicle-testing data under state oversight.
Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who focuses on autonomous driving, said it appears any company that meets minimum application requirements will get a Texas permit – but could also lose it if problems arise.
“California permits are hard to get, easy to lose,” he said. “In Texas, the permit is straightforward to get and straightforward to lose.”
The Tesla robotaxi rollout comes after greater than a decade of Musk’s unfulfilled guarantees to deliver self-driving Teslas.
Musk has said Tesla could be “super paranoid” about robotaxi safety in Austin, including operating in limited areas.
The service in Austin could have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and is not going to carry anyone below age 18.
Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been dangerous and expensive. GM’s Cruise was shut down after a serious accident. Regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox.
Tesla can be bucking the young industry’s standard practice of counting on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, Musk says, will likely be secure and far inexpensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.
