 "Musk’s driverless dream: Tesla announces June 12 rollout for robotaxi in Austin")
Tesla is all set to launch its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin on June 12. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the electric vehicle company is eying June for the launch of the service. The move is being seen as a milestone in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's plan to reshape the company around driverless vehicles and artificial intelligence.
However, speculations are rife that Tesla is not prepared for the launch of the services. The person told Bloomberg that the June 12th date is also not fixed as of now and could still change. In the past, Musk has maintained that the service could commence by the end of June.
This week, in light of the launch, the company operated a test vehicle on public roads in Austin with no one in the driver’s seat for the first time, a source told Bloomberg. A Tesla engineer was riding in the passenger seat of a Model Y SUV, which drove autonomously with no remote operation, the person said.
Last year, the company demonstrated the Cybercab at a flashy event in California. The vehicle will have no steering wheel or pedals. It is pertinent to note that Texas, where Tesla is headquartered, has relatively relaxed rules around autonomous driving, which is regulated much like any other type of passenger vehicle operation. However, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which regulates rideshare services, doesn’t currently list Tesla as a rideshare licensee.
The roadblock
While Tesla is looking to launch the service next month, a report from Fortune suggested that the city of Austin is not ready for Tesla’s robotaxis just yet.
As per the report, Tesla held initial meetings with both state and city agencies in Austin a few weeks ago. However, the officials at Austin’s transportation department, the city’s emergency first responders, and federal regulators said that Tesla has failed to deliver crucial information regarding the service, which is supposed to go live soon.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe officials reportedly maintained that the company has failed to share first responder plans or guides with Austin’s transportation department and fire department. The information is important in incase the robotaxi crashes and first responders need to rescue passengers, put out a vehicle fire, or use “jaws of life” rescue tools.
An Austin official close to the matter told Fortune that Tesla did not share with the city what level of autonomy the Tesla robotaxis will have at launch, meaning Austin isn’t sure if Tesla’s service will require human supervision or not.
It is important to note that other self-driving car companies, like Waymo, are currently operating in Austin. While Tesla uses its own technology, Waymo’s vehicles have large sensors sitting atop the cars in order to navigate the roads. Meanwhile, the Tesla vehicle will only rely on video cameras and AI, raising concerns about the safety of the passengers.
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