Over the years, Tesla has built part of its reputation on hosting big, bold events to generate authentic hype for upcoming releases. The robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, last week wasn’t one of them. Coverage of the rollout was dominated by a close-knit cohort of Tesla influencers and Elon Musk superfans, many of whom are […]
This might be a bigger deal than the robotaxis. Tesla said it completed its first fully autonomous vehicle delivery from factory to customer. A video posted on X shows the vehicle — a Tesla Model Y — leaving the company’s Austin Gigafactory, driving on the highway, passing through suburban sprawl and residential neighborhoods, before arriving […]
Tesla’s robotaxi rollout has been rockier than the fanboys and influencers who got early access to the company’s driverless vehicles would like you to believe. And thanks to these diligent Redditors, we now have a list of all the mistakes the company’s “unsupervised” vehicles have made in the first couple days. Some are relatively minor, […]
This week, Tesla launched its long-promised robotaxi service in Austin, and almost immediately its vehicles were caught fucking up. In a YouTube video, a Tesla robotaxi briefly drives on the wrong side of the road. Another video shared by Ed Niedermeyer, the author of a book about Tesla’s origins, shows a robotaxi braking hard in […]
Uber customers in Atlanta now have the option of hailing a driverless Waymo robotaxi, the company announced today. Atlanta is the second market, after Austin, to play host to Uber and Waymo’s burgeoning autonomous ridehail partnership. At launch, Waymo’s vehicles will be available exclusively on the Uber app in Atlanta. The two companies first announced […]
Tesla finally did the damn thing. The company launched its hotly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, June 22nd — and we’re now starting to see some of the first reactions roll in. But first, we have to get a few important caveats out of the way. Tellingly, the service is not open to […]
Last week, a Tesla Model Y with the word “ROBOTAXI” scratched into its side and no one in the driver seat made a turn off Austin’s bustling South Congress Avenue. Another Tesla, described by autonomous vehicle experts as a “chase vehicle,” followed closely behind. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the clip, seemingly confirming that […]
Waymo announced today that it intends to launch a fully autonomous robotaxi service in New York City — but first it needs to change state law to permit its vehicles to operate with safety drivers behind the wheel. The Alphabet-owned company said it has applied for a permit from the city’s Department of Transportation to […]
Waymo is continuing its slow and steady approach to the robotaxi business by gradually expanding its service area in the key cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The company said that starting June 17th, it would begin accepting passengers further south along the San Francisco Peninsula in cities like Brisbane, South San Francisco, San […]
The US Department of Transportation wants to make it easier for automakers and tech companies to deploy self-driving cars without traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals. In a letter sent to stakeholders, the department said it would streamline reviews of requests for exemptions from safety rules requiring vehicles to have steering wheels, pedals, and […]