A group of Democratic Texas lawmakers have submitted a letter to Tesla requesting either more details regarding the safety considerations of its upcoming self-driving robotaxi fleet service in Austin, or that the program be delayed until new laws take effect later this year. The move comes right after the automaker sent out invites to early program users outlining more details about how it all works, which is not as originally advertised. At least not yet.
Tesla
Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle manufacturer largely attributed to driving the EV revolution. Through the Model S and subsequent products, Tesla has innovated and challenged industry conventions on numerous fronts, including over-the-air updates, self-driving technology, and automotive construction methods. Tesla is considered the world’s most valuable car brand as of 2023, and the Model Y the world’s best-selling car in the same year, but the brand’s greatest achievement is arguably the Supercharger network of EV charging stations.
- Founded
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July 1, 2003
- Founder
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Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning
- Headquarters
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Austin, Texas, USA
- Current CEO
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Elon Musk
The lawmaker’s letter, for now, is nothing more than a request for more information and/or a deferral of the robotaxi service until its questions are satisfied. It’s just a letter with no legal support, though it’s not clear what potential consequences Tesla would face if company executives ignore the letter and launch this month as planned.
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The letter asks Tesla to comply with five key criteria to begin operation. Among those is a requirement calling for each vehicle to comply with all Texas state laws. That seems like a no-brainer, but beyond that, legislators want all vehicles to have a recording device, be registered, titled, and insured, and be capable of a so-called “minimal risk condition” if the self-driving system is somehow inoperable. And another no-brainer request – all vehicles should comply with federal laws and safety standards.
In addition, Tesla must also submit a first responder interaction plan for how the vehicles should be approached and handled in the event of an emergency. It could be unnerving for first responders approaching a vehicle without a driver in normal situations, never mind after a collision.
To be clear, there is nothing to suggest that Tesla is not already compliant with these requests. The trouble is, there’s not enough publicly known information about Tesla’s program to confirm anything. And time to get all of this sussed out before the program begins is quickly running out. It’s supposed to launch June 22 – just a couple of days away as this post goes live.
Invites to early users have reportedly gone out, but the program is not as originally promised by Tesla executives. So far, Model Y prototypes with safety monitors in the passenger seats have been spotted for pilot testing of the program, without riders yet. And instead of using customer vehicles equipped with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving tech, Tesla will instead run its own fleet in a geo-fenced area that does not include airports.
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Further, the “no driver” promise has translated into a dedicated passenger who monitors the vehicle’s performance and can step in to stop or pull the vehicle over if required. It’s unclear how long Tesla will need to run the in-car safety monitor. The terms of the invite also mention that there could be no service during inclement weather, and it will be limited to the hours of 6 a.m. to midnight.
Source: DriveTeslaCanada; Electrek
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