Texas enacts robotaxi rules on eve of Tesla's Austin rollout
AUSTIN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a state 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.
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Express Tribune
14 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Calls grow in Congress to halt Trump's military actions in Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 21, 2025, following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Photo:REUTERS Listen to article Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Sunday called on Congress to rein in President Donald Trump's use of military force in Iran and prevent US involvement in a deepening Middle East conflict. With Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives strongly backing the US attacks on key Iranian nuclear sites, it seemed unlikely any resolution that asserts the power of Congress to declare war and restricts Trump's actions could pass both chambers. US Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said he expects to force the Senate to vote this week on his measure requiring Trump to terminate hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war from Congress. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California said they want a vote on similar legislation they introduced in the House. "This is the US jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump's urging, without any compelling national security interest for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress," Kaine told CBS' Face the Nation program. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the criticism from lawmakers. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune were both notified of the US military action ahead of time, according to sources familiar with the matter. Members of Congress are expected to be briefed on Tuesday. Read: Make Iran Great Again, says Trump as Tehran vows response to US strikes Thune's office declined to comment on Kaine's measure. The attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities on Saturday divided Trump's populist MAGA movement, with some leaders rallying behind the president and others calling for an end to hostilities after so-called US "forever wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on US soil. "I represent part of the coalition that elected President Trump. We were tired of endless wars," Massie told CBS. "We were promised that we would put our veterans, our immigration policies and our infrastructure first." Massie and Kaine each said there was no urgency requiring Trump to act unilaterally. "There was no imminent threat to the United States," Massie said. "We haven't been briefed." Intelligence reports and analysts have reached different conclusions on how close Iran was to building a nuclear bomb. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday that the US had intelligence that should Iran decide to do so, it could build a nuclear weapon in weeks or months. US officials say they do not believe Iran had decided to make a bomb. Iran claims its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and focused on energy production and medical research. But its program, which began in the late 1950s with US support, has fallen under suspicion in recent years, with Tehran ramping up enrichment to 60%, just below the weapons-grade of 90%, and restricting the access of international inspectors to its sites. Trump vowed on Sunday to support Massie's primary challenger in the 2026 midterm elections, saying the Kentucky congressman's criticism of the Iran attack and opposition to Trump's legislative efforts proved he was not aligned with the party's new base. "MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one," Trump posted to Truth Social. Read More: World reacts to US bombing of Iran Another Trump loyalist, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, also criticized Trump's decision on Sunday, but insisted she was not being disloyal. "I can also support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started," the Georgia Republican wrote on X. Other Trump allies pushed back on claims that his actions against Iran violated the US Constitution and a federal law that restricts unilateral action by a president to conditions involving an attack on the United States. "He had all the authority he needs under the Constitution. They are wrong," said Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally who has long been a leading voice on US foreign policy matters in Congress. "If you don't like what the president does in terms of war, you can cut off the funding," the South Carolina Republican told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. The attacks on Iran generally drew accolades from Republican lawmakers who declared that the operation set back Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon. "The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do," Johnson said in a post on X late Saturday. "The Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act." The US Constitution divides war powers in the federal government by making the president the commander-in-chief of the armed forces but leaving sole authority to declare war to Congress. The balance has shifted, with Congress relinquishing the use of military power to presidents of both parties in recent years. But Democrats said it was too early to tell whether the mission had succeeded, warning that Iran could have moved its nuclear material to other sites far from US targets. "The tragedy in this country is that we keep entering these overseas wars. We triumphantly declare the mission is accomplished the day after, and then we're left with Americans bearing the consequences for decades," Khanna told CBS.
Business Recorder
17 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Tesla rolls out robotaxis in Texas test
AUSTIN: Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the 'robotaxi launch' and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides. The event marked the first time Tesla cars without human drivers have carried paying riders, a business that Musk sees as crucial to the electric car maker's financial future. He called the moment the 'culmination of a decade of hard work' in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that 'the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.' Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighborhood called South Congress with no one in the driver's seat but one person in the passenger seat. The automaker planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as 'safety monitors,' though it remained unclear how much control they had over the vehicles. In recent days, the automaker sent invites to a select group of influencers for a carefully monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being offered for a flat fee of $4.20, Musk said on X. Tesla investor and social-media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X Sunday afternoon showing him ordering, getting picked up and taking a ride to a nearby bar and restaurant, Frazier's Long and Low, using a Tesla robotaxi app. If Tesla succeeds with the small deployment, it still faces major challenges in delivering on Musk's promises to scale up quickly in Austin and other cities, industry experts say. It could take years or decades for Tesla and self-driving rivals, such as Alphabet's Waymo, to fully develop a robotaxi industry, said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor with expertise in autonomous-vehicle technology. A successful Austin trial for Tesla, he said, would be 'the end of the beginning - not the beginning of the end.' 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. As Tesla's robotaxi-rollout date approached, Texas lawmakers moved to enact autonomous-vehicle rules. Musk says Tesla launching robotaxis today in Austin Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday signed legislation requiring a state permit to operate self-driving vehicles. The law, which takes effect September 1, signals that state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. The governor's office declined to comment. 'Easy to get, easy to lose' The law softens the state's previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars. The new 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 gives state authorities the power to revoke permits for operators they deem a public danger. The law also requires firms to provide information on how first responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency situations. The law's permit requirements for an 'automated motor vehicle' are not onerous but require firms to attest their vehicles can operate legally and safely. It defines an automated vehicle as having at least 'Level 4' autonomous-driving capability under a recognized standard, meaning it can operate with no human driver under specified conditions. Level 5 autonomy is the top level and means a car can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions. Compliance remains far easier than in some states, notably California, which requires submission of vehicle-testing data under state oversight. Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who focuses on autonomous driving, said it appears any company that meets minimum application requirements will get a Texas permit - but could also lose it if problems arise. 'California permits are hard to get, easy to lose,' he said. 'In Texas, the permit is easy to get and easy to lose.' Musk's safety pledges The Tesla robotaxi rollout comes after more than a decade of Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas. Musk has said Tesla would be 'super paranoid' about robotaxi safety in Austin, including operating in limited areas. The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not carry anyone below age 18. Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. GM's Cruise was shut down after a serious accident. Regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Amazon's Zoox. Tesla is also bucking the young industry's standard practice of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, Musk says, will be safe and much less expensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Texas enacts robotaxi rules on eve of Tesla's Austin rollout
AUSTIN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a state 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.
