Tesla faces an existential test this month as it aims to launch self-driving “robotaxis” in its home base of Austin, Texas, where public-safety officials are increasingly concerned about the state’s anti-regulation stance toward autonomous vehicles.
For Tesla, the launch of between 10 and 20 Model Y vehicles follows a decade of unfulfilled promises of self-driving vehicles from CEO Elon Musk, who last year staked the company’s future on such technology as it pivoted away from chasing rapid growth in electric-vehicle sales.
The Austin robotaxi launch, which Musk says will "tentatively" open to the public on June 22, comes as Tesla tries to arrest a global vehicle-sales slide, stemming from both its aging lineup of human-driven electric vehicles and Musk's right-wing political activities.
Some analysts and investors attribute the majority of Tesla’s stock market value to hopes for robotaxis and humanoid robots it has yet to deliver. On an earnings call last year, Musk said investors "should sell their Tesla stock" if they did not believe the company would solve the technological challenges of driverless vehicles.
For the city of Austin, Tesla’s launch adds anxiety to a regulation-free landscape for autonomous vehicles. The Texas legislature in 2017 prohibited cities from regulating autonomous vehicles as a way to promote the industry’s growth statewide. Now, as the vehicles proliferate, some politicians, public-safety officials and advocates are pushing for more rules.
Austin police officers continually have run into problems with autonomous vehicles from Alphabet’s Waymo and General Motors' now-defunct Cruise freezing up when they encounter complex traffic situations, such as festivals where officers direct traffic with hand signals, said Austin Police Lieutenant William White. Vehicles have disregarded traffic barriers and driven into prohibited areas, he said.
“It’s been very frustrating on our end from a safety standpoint,” said White, who oversees autonomous-vehicle safety for the department.
“If these machines are learning, they’re not learning at a quick enough pace for sure.”
Waymo said it works closely with Austin officials and is always looking to improve the technology.
The Texas legislature passed a bill last month that for the first time would require autonomous-vehicle companies to apply for authorisation to operate in the state, and give state authorities the power to revoke permits if a driverless vehicle "endangers the public."
Firms are also required to provide the state information on how police and first responders can deal with the vehicles in emergency situations.
If the bill is signed by the governor, it is unclear when the new system would take effect, but likely not until next year, according to a state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson.
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