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Robotaxis seen as key to Tesla's future as company pivots

from

mass-market, cheaper EVs

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Texas' regulation-free stance raises safety concerns for

autonomous vehicles

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Musk says company will use geofencing and remote

monitoring

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NHTSA seeks details on unanswered questions about Austin

rollout

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Tesla to use remote backup drivers, limit area where taxis

operate

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By Chris Kirkham

June 11 (Reuters) - 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' ( GM ) 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 authorization 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.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Musk and Tesla have given few details about their plans for

the Austin robotaxi launch. Among the key questions is whether

the cars will include new sensors or other technology that

differs from the currently offered "Full Self-Driving" feature,

which is not autonomous. In a post on his X social media

platform on Tuesday, Musk described the driverless Austin

vehicles as "unmodified Tesla cars" using a "new version of

software."

In January, Musk said Tesla would be offering "autonomous

ride-hailing for money in Austin, in June," followed by other

American cities "as swiftly as possible." He has described

Tesla's approach as one that "works anywhere."

In April, he said the Austin rollout would begin with 10 or

20 Model Y vehicles, and that the company would "scale it up

rapidly after that" to be in "many other cities in the U.S." by

the end of the year. He predicted there would be "millions of

Teslas" operating "fully autonomously" by the second half of

next year.

Musk's statements in recent weeks have been more cautious.

On CNBC last month, he said that when Tesla deploys robotaxis in

Austin, the company will "geofence" the vehicles and operate in

"only the parts of Austin that we consider to be the safest." He

said company staff would remotely monitor the vehicles.

"We're going to be extremely paranoid about the deployment,

as we should be," he said.

Musk and Tesla have not said who the passengers will be, how

Tesla will charge for rides, where in Austin they will operate

or how extensive the remote operation will be. Rivals have

started testing with their own employees and a limited number of

passengers before opening the services to anyone.

In a post on X on Tuesday night, Musk said public rides

would begin "tentatively, June 22," adding "the date could

shift." One video that surfaced on social media on Tuesday,

which Musk reposted, showed a Model Y with the word "Robotaxi"

driving on a street in Austin with no human driver, followed

closely by a second Tesla vehicle. In a May 28 post on X, Musk

said the company had recently started testing "self-driving"

vehicles on Austin public streets with "no one in driver's

seat."

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

Tesla advertisements for "teleoperation" positions say the

company needs the ability to "access and control" autonomous

vehicles and humanoid robots remotely, adding that such

employees can "remotely perform complex and intricate tasks."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inquired

last month about many of the unanswered questions surrounding

the Austin rollout.

The agency, which is investigating Tesla's FSD

driver-assistance feature after a fatal crash in 2023, sent a

detailed request seeking information about safety features,

Tesla's timetable for expansion, where exactly it will be

operating the vehicles and how it is preparing for accidents and

emergency scenarios. The responses are due next week.

A person familiar with NHTSA's operations said the agency

sent the letter because it already has concerns about Tesla's

current FSD technology, which it sells to customers for $99 a

month, and it fears that Tesla's Austin rollout may not be

safe.

The Texas attorney general is considering a Reuters request for

communications between Tesla and city officials in Austin over

the past two years, which Tesla has opposed over trade secrets

concerns. Austin's Department of Transportation and Public Works

declined to discuss Tesla's operations.

A person familiar with Austin's autonomous-vehicle policies

said the city has been meeting regularly with Tesla since

December and that the company has shared some deployment plans

with the city.

Safety experts say there has been a dearth of information

about Tesla's technology. Phil Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon

University engineering professor and autonomous-vehicle safety

expert, said Musk's statements "leave room for ambiguity" about

its plans in Austin and the sophistication of its robotaxi

technology. "When you start to pin it down, it's like jello," he

said.

He questioned whether Tesla would be ready for a rapid

nationwide rollout soon.

"Having 10 cars on the road and not having a crash," Koopman

said, "is sort of table stakes for this game."