Tesla's public robotaxi rides set for tentative June 22 start, CEO Musk says
SAN FRANCISCO, June 11 — Tesla tentatively plans to begin offering rides on its self-driving robotaxis to the public on June 22, CEO Elon Musk said yesterday, as investors and fans of the electric vehicle maker eagerly await rollout of the long-promised service.
Musk has staked Tesla's future on self-driving vehicles, pivoting away from plans to build a cheaper EV platform, and much of the company's valuation hangs on that vision.
But commercialising autonomous vehicles (AV) has been challenging with safety concerns, tight regulations and soaring investments, and many have been sceptical of Musk's plans.
'We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift,' Musk said in a post on X in response to a question from a user about public robotaxi rides that the EV maker plans to first offer in Austin, Texas.
Musk also said starting June 28, Tesla vehicles will drive themselves to a customer's house from the end of the factory line.
A successful robotaxi launch is crucial for Tesla as sales of its EVs have softened due to rising competition and a backlash against Musk's embrace of far-right political views in Europe, and his recent work for US President Donald Trump before their public falling out.
Musk has promised a paid robotaxi service in Austin starting with about 10-20 of its Model Y SUVs that will operate in a limited area and under remote human supervision.
The company then plans to expand operations to other US states later in the year, including California which has stringent AV regulations.
'Austin >> LA for robotaxi launch lol,' Musk said on X, in an apparent reference to the southern Californian city of Los Angeles.
Tesla has been testing its self-driving vehicles on public streets in Austin, Musk said last month. Earlier yesterday, Musk re-posted a video on X that showed a Model Y making a turn at an Austin intersection with no human driver and the word 'Robotaxi' written on it, and followed closely by another Model Y.
The vehicles were using a new version of Tesla's advanced driver assistance software, called Full Self-Driving (FSD), Musk said in a separate X post.
Little else is known about Tesla's robotaxi service, including where it will operate, the extent of remote supervision and how the public can use the service. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Temasek joins Microsoft, BlackRock and MGX to develop AI infrastructure
FILE PHOTO: Temasek logo is seen in this illustration taken November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Temasek has joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, BlackRock and tech investment company MGX to invest and expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to BlackRock's investor day presentation slides on Thursday. The Singapore state investment company has joined AI Infrastructure Partnership, a group that also includes BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, the slides showed. AIP, formed in September with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the world's largest efforts to invest in data centres and energy facilities needed to power AI applications such as ChatGPT. It aims to mobilise up to $100 billion including debt financing for such investments, which will focus on the United States. Temasek's participation comes after the Kuwait Investment Authority joined AIP earlier in June. The sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait was the first non-founder financial anchor investor to join the consortium, which also counts partners including Nvidia and billionaire Elon Musk's xAI. "Temasek's investment in the AI Infrastructure Partnership reflects our focus on the big shifts and trends of the future," Ravi Lambah, Temasek's head of strategic initiatives, said in an email to Reuters. "AI is potentially the most transformative and impactful technology for all sectors and businesses," he added. Temasek did not disclose financial details of the investment. The global investment company had a net portfolio value of S$389 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2024, according to its website. ($1 = 1.2804 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Fifa introduces ‘Ref Cam' for Club World Cup — but controversial calls won't be shown
MIAMI, June 12 — Referees at this month's Fifa Club World Cup will wear 'body cams' with the footage used in broadcasts of the game — but only if the images are of non-controversial incidents, Fifa refereeing officials said yesterday. The match referees in the tournament will wear a small camera protruding from their earpiece which will be able to generate video from the referees point of view. But while broadcasters will be able to offer unique angles on goals and saves — as well as close-up live video and sound from the pre-match coin toss — viewers won't get to see penalty decisions or other disputable moments from the new camera angle. 'The objective is to offer the TV viewers a new experience,' said Pierluigi Collina, the Chairman of the Fifa Referees Committee. Collina said that IFAB, which sets the laws of the game had allowed a trial of the technology and suggested that footage of controversies might be part of a later phase in the future. 'Let's do things step by step. At the moment... this is a trial. We need to do something new and the simpler the better. So we fixed some rules within a protocol. We will offer these images in the future? Maybe when we learn to run, maybe not, maybe we will do,' he said. The live images will be broadcast via a private 5G network from the ref to the match production team, said Fifa Director of Innovation, Johannes Holzmuller, who said the live aspect would only be available in the six NFL stadiums being used for the tournament. What Club World Cup fans will be able to see are the VAR reviews, as seen by referees on the pitchside monitor, which will be broadcast on giant screens in the stadium. That video will then be followed by the referee announcing the final decision over the public address system and the television broadcast. The tournament will also see the use of 'enhanced semi-automatic offside' technology which will use 16 cameras linked to AI technology and algorithms which will send an audio message to the assistant referee when an offside player touches the ball. The system will likely see the flag raised earlier for offside and reduce cases of play continuing after a clear offside until a later VAR review. The tournament will also be an early introduction of the new law that goalkeepers have eight seconds to release the ball after picking it up — or be punished with a corner. It replaces the previous law that keepers had six seconds to release the ball or give up an indirect free-kick. The goalkeepers will be shown a five second warning by the referee who will count down showing the fingers of one hand. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
China affirms trade deal with US, says it always keeps its word
The deal was reached after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke on the telephone last week. (AFP pic) BEIJING : China on Thursday affirmed a trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump, saying both sides needed to abide by the consensus and adding China always kept its word. The deal, reached after Trump and China's President Xi Jinping spoke on the telephone last week, brings a delicate truce in a trade war between the world's two largest economies. 'China has always kept its word and delivered results,' Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a regular news conference. 'Now that a consensus has been reached, both sides should abide by it.' The Trump-Xi telephone call broke a standoff that had flared just weeks after a preliminary deal was reached in Geneva. The call was quickly followed by more talks in London that Washington said had put 'meat on the bones' of the Geneva agreement to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs. The Geneva deal had faltered over China's continued curbs on minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, jet engines for Chinese-made planes and other goods to China. Trump on Wednesday said he was very happy with the trade deal. 'Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%.' Still, specifics of the latest deal and details on how it will be implemented remain unclear. A White House official said the 55% represents the sum of a baseline 10% 'reciprocal' tariff Trump has imposed on goods imported from nearly all US trading partners, 20% on all Chinese imports associated with his accusation that China had not done enough to stem the flow of fentanyl into the US, and pre-existing 25% levies on imports from China put in place during Trump's first presidential term.
