‘About the people, not the politics': MSNBC town hall spotlights forced out federal workers
Elon Musk may be stepping back from DOGE, but the government firings are not ending anytime soon. Thursday, May 1st, at 9 pm ET on MSNBC, Stephanie Ruhle and Jacob Soboroff will host the town hall, "100 Days of Trump: Forced Out Federal Workers," which will feature a live audience of former federal workers.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
You Are Completely Unprepared for What Tesla's Robotaxi Actually Looks Like
We've finally gotten a glimpse at one of Tesla's Robotaxis in action. But don't expect your socks to be blown off. As seen in a bystander's footage taken in Austin, Texas, that Elon Musk has proudly reshared, it's literally just a black Model Y with the word "Robotaxi" scrawled on the side in a painfully outdated graffiti font. The future is truly upon us. "Beautifully simple design," Musk tweeted, presumably through a pained grimace. To be clear, this isn't the Cybercab, Tesla's currently in-development car that's supposed to function exclusively as an autonomous taxi, with an extremely boneheaded design that features only two seats and no steering wheel. What we're seeing, instead, is a regular Tesla with a software update (and a mid-life crisis design flourish.) "These are unmodified Tesla cars coming straight from the factory," Musk explained in a followup tweet, "meaning that every Tesla coming out of our factories is capable of unsupervised self-driving!" The self-driving cabs are right around the corner. According to a Bloomberg report last month, Tesla plans to launch its Robotaxi service in Austin on June 12, with development reportedly ahead of schedule. Around the time of the reporting, Musk confirmed in a tweet that the automaker had completed its first test of operating a Robotaxi with no human behind the wheel on a public road. In the recent footage, there was no driver physically present, either. The cab service will start with about 10 vehicles operating in the city, according to Musk. At first, only Tesla employees will be allowed to ride in them. But Musk insisted that the service will quickly expand, if all goes to plan. In one of his trademark grand promises, the billionaire estimated that the city would be crawling with over 1,000 Tesla robotaxis "within a few months" of launching, and upped the ante further by adding that more than a million self-driving cars would be roaming American roads by the end of 2026. There are still huge question marks hovering over the entire thing. Tesla's current self-driving offerings, like its misleadingly named Full Self-Driving feature, are considered to have Level 2 autonomy. That means a human driver must be physically present and ready to take control at any moment. But Robotaxis will need to operate at Level 4 autonomy and higher, which entails they're capable of driving with no human present, though only in limited conditions. That's a concerning leap, as Tesla's safety record with its existing FSD is already questionable, and it's yet to demonstrate that it can even accomplish Level 3. The choice of location explains a lot. Texas virtually has no special regulations in place for autonomous vehicles. A prospective Robotaxi basically just has to follow the same safety requirements as any other car, along with having cameras and other data recording systems installed. And due to a 2017 Texas law, cities can't intervene by imposing their own regulations, leaving everything handled by the state. At this stage, it's also unclear how Tesla plans to teleoperate the vehicles, a term that describes the use of humans to remotely supervise or even completely control the Robotaxis as they prowl public roads — something that Tesla's competitors in the space also do, though they try to avoid talking about. Tesla has put up listings for developing a teleoperation system — but, perhaps tellingly, has avoided providing any further details. More on Tesla: Cybertruck Sales Are So Bad That We Gasped
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Musk says Tesla's robotaxi service to 'tentatively' launch in Austin on June 22
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Elon Musk says Tesla is 'tentatively' set to begin providing robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on June 22. In a post on his X social media platform, Musk said the date could change because Tesla is 'being super paranoid about safety.' Investors, Wall Street analysts and Tesla enthusiasts have been anticipating the rollout of the driverless cabs since Musk said earlier this year that the service would launch in Austin sometime in June. Last month, Musk told CNBC that the taxis will be remotely monitored at first and 'geofenced' to certain areas of the city deemed the safest to navigate. He said he expected to initially run 10 or so taxis, increase that number rapidly and start offering the service in Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Francisco and other cities. Musk has been promising fully autonomous, self-driving vehicles 'next year' for a decade, but the pressure is on now as Tesla actually begins to operate a self-driving taxi service. Sales of Tesla's electric vehicles have sagged due to increased competition, the retooling of its most popular car, the Model Y, and the fallout from Musk's turn to politics. The Austin rollout also comes after Musk had a public blowup with President Donald Trump over the administration's tax bill. Some analysts have expressed concern that Trump could retaliate by encouraging federal safety regulators to to step in at any sign of trouble for the robotaxis.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
French Tesla customers sue over brand becoming 'extreme right'
Around 10 French clients with leases on Teslas are suing the US carmaker, run by Elon Musk, because they consider the vehicles to be "extreme-right" symbols, the law firm representing them said on Wednesday. They feel they suffered "direct and concrete" damage from the way Teslas are now associated with "Elon Musk's actions", the GKA law firm said. They are demanding the Paris commercial court order their lease contracts be terminated and legal costs reimbursed, it said in a statement, signed by lawyers Patrick Klugman and Ivan Terel. The lawsuit comes as Tesla sales in the European Union have almost halved since the beginning of the year, a slump attributed to Musk's political activities. Those activities include him -- until last week -- standing firmly with US President Donald Trump, and overseeing efforts to cut down US departments and agencies. He has also lent public support to Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and came under criticism for making a repeated gesture with an out-thrust arm interpreted by many historians to be a Nazi salute. "Because of Elon Musk's actions... Tesla branded vehicles have become strong political symbols and now appear to be veritable extreme-right 'totems', to the dismay of those who acquired them with the sole aim of possessing an innovative and ecological vehicle," GKA said in a statement. The perception of the Teslas they leased "prevents them from fully enjoying their car", it said. Most of the leases run for four years, with an option at the end to buy the vehicle. Tesla cars in Europe and elsewhere have been targeted by vandals, with some drivers reporting they have been insulted for using what is sometimes called on social media a "swasti-car". Several owners have taken to putting stickers on their Teslas reading "I bought this before Elon went crazy". "The situation is both unexpected and impossible for French Tesla owners," Klugman told AFP. "Musk's political positions have interrupted enjoyment" of the vehicles, and "we believe that Mr Musk owes these buyers the peaceful possession of the thing sold", he said. Contacted by AFP for comment, Tesla did not immediately respond. tsz/jum/rmb/ach
