NEW YORK (AP) — Federal safety regulators have asked Elon Musk's auto company to explain how its driverless taxis will avoid accidents on roads listed in Texas next month until a nationwide “Robotaxi” launch is key to keeping its stock price high.
Tesla was told to provide information on how its taxi will operate safely in Austin, Texas, when there were fog, sun, rain, rain, and other low visibility conditions related to accidents involving the company's driver assistant software. The accidents, including those killing pedestrians, triggered a probe in October in 2.4 million Musk's vehicles.
The billionaire assured investors on a revenue call last month that the Robotaxi service will be launched in Austin as planned and quickly led to millions of robots and other autonomous vehicles operating across the country.
“We expect a green light after Tesla's response, but the focus is on a wider rollout in the U.S. after the launch of the Austin pilot,” said Dan Ives, equity analyst at Wedbush Securities. “This is a critical period for Musk.”
On the same call, Musk said he was withdrawing from President Donald Trump's administration to cut the tsar's work. Tesla's stock has risen 45% since then, but has remained down about 17% so far.
If Tesla's response to the agency's 9-page 9-page letters on Monday was not satisfactory, regulators would often ask automakers and NHTSA orders themselves to be safe. The agency provided a response to Tesla until June 19.
Federal regulators have limited authority over the new Tesla taxi because there is no steering wheel or brake pedal, which operates without steering wheel or brake pedals because there is no national regulations on autonomous driving technology. One thing to back is that the vehicle itself still has to undergo a long-term safety inspection.
“NHTSA can be forced to recall 'voluntarily' by Tesla, or by ordering the recall,” said Ann Carlson, former acting NHTSA chief. “However, the agency must not require some kind of pre-approval until Tesla launches.”
In the letter, regulators raised several questions to Tesla in addition to the situation regarding low visibility conditions. They asked about the number and model of taxis, when and where to deploy taxis in the next few months, how to monitor them remotely in real time, cameras and other sensors used to guide vehicles, specific measures used to guide vehicles, to determine whether they are navigating the streets in a safe way, and to name them on Tesla and evaluate them on Tesla.
