- Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Tesla’s initial fleet of robotaxi will be based on its Model Y car and the plan is to roll out about 10 self-driving cars in some parts of Austin
By: India Weekly
ELECTRIC vehicle maker Tesla may begin its long-awaited robotaxi service in Austin on June 12, reports Bloomberg News, and added that the date may be subject to change.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had earlier this month said that the test of its robotaxi service will take place in Austin, Texas, by the end of June.
The carmaker is banking on robotaxis project to prop up its sagging fortunes amid the declining sales of its electric cars across the globe.
The plan is to roll out about 10 self-driving cars in some parts of Austin, and scale up to about a thousand within a few months, Musk said in a media interview.
Tesla’s initial fleet of robotaxis will be based on its Model Y car.
Meanwhile, Austin’s transportation department and Austin’s emergency first responders are still missing important information about the self-driving cars.
Tesla hasn’t hosted trainings with Austin emergency responders, according to Fortune magazine.
The company has still not shared first responder plans or guides with the Austin Fire Department and the Austin transportation department.
Tesla has assured that those guidebooks are coming, and its engineering teams have been in regular communication with the Austin city authorities.
US auto safety investigators had earlier asked Tesla to answer their questions in order to assess how the electric vehicle maker’s cars with full self-driving technology will perform in poor weather.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a letter made public on May 12, said it has been investigating Tesla full self-driving collisions in reduced roadway visibility conditions since October.
NHTSA said it is seeking additional information about Tesla’s development of robotaxis “to assess the ability of Tesla’s system to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions” as well details on robotaxi deployment plans and the technology being used.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NHTSA said it wants to know how many vehicles will be used as robotaxis and the expected timetable for availability of robotaxi technology for vehicles controlled by people other than Tesla.
NHTSA also wants to know whether robotaxi vehicles will be supervised or monitored by Tesla in real time.
NHTSA’s letter asks Tesla to describe how it intends to ensure safety of robotaxi operations in reduced roadway visibility conditions such as sun glare, fog, airborne dust, rain, or snow. It also wants to know what happens if poor visibility is encountered during a ride.
The letter asks for details on the robotaxi sensors, use of cameras and sensors “for the robotaxi system’s safe operation when supervised and unsupervised” and whether Tesla complies fully or partially with any industry standards on driving automation systems.
Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo got approval on May 19 from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San Jose.
Waymo is the only US firm to run uncrewed robotaxi services carrying paying passengers.
The company has more than 1,500 vehicles on the road across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, and runs over 250,000 rides a week.
Self-driving vehicle companies have been under increased regulatory scrutiny following a major accident in 2023 in San Francisco involving a robotaxi from General Motors’ Cruise, which later shut operations. (Agencies)
