Dive Brief:
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked Tesla to provide details of the technology it plans to use to safely operate driverless robotaxis, which co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said the company will launch in Austin, Texas, in June.
- A nine-page May 8 letter from NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation requested information on how Tesla “plans to evaluate its vehicles and driving automation technologies for use on public roads.”
- The safety agency’s request came in connection with an ongoing investigation into collisions involving Tesla vehicles using “Full Self Driving (Supervised)” technology in poor visibility conditions. Supervised FSD is an advanced driver assistance system that does not make the vehicle capable of autonomous driving, the company’s website states.
Dive Insight:
Tesla already operates a ride-hailing service for its employees in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area using supervised FSD, according to an April 23 post from the automaker on X. Musk told investors on the company’s April 22 earnings call that its robotaxis will “be in many other cities in the U.S. by the end of this year.” He said, “I predict that there will be millions of Teslas operating autonomously, fully autonomously in the second half of next year.”
Unlike Waymo, which equips its robotaxis with cameras, lidar and radar, Musk explained that Tesla relies on cameras and artificial intelligence. Current Tesla FSD features “require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” the company says on its website.
NHTSA requested information on how Tesla plans to ensure the safety of its vehicles when encountering sun glare, fog, airborne dust, rain, or snow; how its vehicles will respond to collisions and interact with first responders; and how its driving automation system is monitored by in-vehicle or remote personnel.
The safety agency also asked Tesla to explain when and where its robotaxis will be available to the public and how its robotaxi driving system differs from its consumer FSD-supervised product. Tesla must respond to NHTSA by June 19.
Separately, on May 12, Waymo recalled 1,212 robotaxis equipped with its fifth generation automated driving system for software versions released prior to Nov. 7, 2024. The software may cause the vehicles to collide with roadway barriers such as chains and gates, according to information on NHTSA’s website.
