*

Republican governor signs bill regulating autonomous

vehicles

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Law could hamper Tesla rollout, but does not take effect

until

September

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Reversing anti-regulatory stance, Texas requires state

approval,

imposes other rules

(Updates with governor signing robotaxi regulation to take

effect September 1)

By Norihiko Shirouzu and Abhirup Roy

AUSTIN, June 22 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott,

a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a permit to

operate self-driving vehicles just before Tesla's planned launch

of a robotaxi trial on Sunday in Austin, according to the

governor's website.

The law does not take effect until September 1, but the

governor's approval of it on Friday sends a strong signal that

state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle

industry to proceed cautiously. A group of Democratic state

lawmakers earlier this week asked Tesla to delay its planned

robotaxi trial because of the legislation.

Neither Tesla nor the governor's office immediately

responded to requests for comment.

The law marks a reversal from the state's previous

anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law

specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving

cars.

In recent days, Tesla has sent invites to a select group of

Tesla online influencers for a small and carefully monitored

robotaxi trial, which the company has said would include 10 or

20 Model Y vehicles operated in a limited zone of Austin.

The governor's signature on the law puts the automaker in

the position of choosing whether to proceed with a rollout it

might have to terminate before September 1.

The law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get

approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before

operating on public streets without a human driver.

It also gives state authorities the power to revoke permits

if they deem a driverless vehicle "endangers the public" and

requires firms to provide information on how police and first

responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency

situations.

MUSK'S SAFETY PLEDGES

The planned Tesla robotaxi launch, which the company warned

might be delayed, comes after more than a decade of CEO Elon

Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas.

Most of Tesla's sky-high stock value now rests on its

ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to

many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world's most

valuable automaker.

Musk has said Tesla would be "super paranoid" about safety

for the Austin rollout. The company planned to operate only in

areas it considered the safest and to have "safety monitors"

riding in the front passenger seat.

It is not clear how much control the monitors would have

over the vehicles in an emergency situation.

The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well.

Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and

will not carry anyone below the age of 18. Musk has said he is

ready to delay the start for safety reasons, if needed.

The planned launch has generated buzz among Tesla fans.

"Wow. We are going to ride in driverless Teslas in just a

few days. On public roads," posted Omar Qazi, an X.com user with

635,200 followers who writes often about Tesla using the handle

@WholeMarsBlog and received an invite.

Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been risky and

expensive. GM's Cruise was shut down after a fatal accident and

regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Alphabet's

Waymo, which runs a paid robotaxi service in several U.S.

cities, and Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox.

Tesla is also bucking the young industry's standard practice

of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only

cameras. That, says Musk, will be safe and much less expensive

than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.