Latest news with #FSDSupervised
Axios
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Tesla's robotaxi plan attracts federal safety scrutiny
Public trust in self-driving vehicles is critical, but without federal standards, companies in the sector get to decide what to share about the safety of their technology, with varying levels of transparency. As Tesla gears up to launch robotaxis next month in Austin, Texas, there are still plenty of outstanding questions. Why it matters: Even if you're personally not ready to ride in the back seat of a robotaxi, everyone will be sharing the road with them soon enough. People want assurances that cars with no one behind the wheel will behave predictably and safely. The big picture: AV companies use various tactics to build public trust. Months before launching the first driverless semi-trucks in Texas last month, Aurora Innovation shared details of its safety case framework. Gatik enlisted a third-party auditor to validate safety claims about its automated trucks and named an independent safety advisory council. Waymo regularly releases independent, peer-reviewed research analyzing the safety of its robotaxis. Tesla's website shares safety performance data about its assisted-driving system, but as with most companies, the data is selective, safety experts say. "There are different degrees of transparency, but as a professor, I would never give anyone higher than a C," said Missy Cummings, director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center and a former official at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Driving the news: Tesla CEO Elon Musk told CNBC Tuesday the company is on track to launch a modest fleet of 10 or 12 robotaxis in Austin next month. "We will have to see how well it does. But I think it's prudent for us to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well, and then scale it up proportionate to how well we see it's doing," Musk said. By the end of 2026, Musk said he expects one million self-driving Teslas, whose owners could choose to add them to the robotaxi network to earn money when not in use. Yes, but: Some AV experts question whether Tesla's system — which relies on AI and a handful of inexpensive cameras, rather than a suite of redundant sensors — will be able to handle unexpected situations. NHTSA is already investigating collisions involving Tesla's current assisted-driving technology (called FSD Supervised, short for "full self-driving"), to determine if the system can get blinded by sun glare, fog or airborne dust. That tech is the foundation for its future driverless system, Tesla says. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Zoom in: In a letter earlier this month, Tanya Topka, the director of NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, demanded Tesla share more details about its plans, so the agency can understand how its fully driverless robotaxis will compare to the driver-assistance products available on Tesla vehicles today. NHTSA wants to know, for example, how the vehicles will be monitored in real time, whether they can be remotely "tele-operated" by Tesla staff in case they get stuck and how robotaxis will respond to emergency vehicles. Where it stands: Tesla says it is still working through a "big list of issues" to reduce the number of times backup safety drivers have to take control of the wheel during pre-launch testing. "We are aware of the interventions that are that's why we are hardcore burning it down," Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's director of Autopilot software, told investors on an April 22 earnings call. Musk told CNBC Tuesday that remote monitors will be "extremely paranoid" in their oversight, but stopped short of confirming whether they will be capable of taking control of vehicles remotely. Waymo has a remote response team to guide its robotaxis through decision-making when necessary, but they do not operate the vehicle from afar. What to watch: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC the AV industry needs to be more transparent. "We don't want to punish them. We want to give them better rules." The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association — of which Tesla is not a member — wants federal guidelines for autonomous vehicles, and is also calling for a national safety data repository on crashes involving self-driving cars.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla robotaxis will be on Austin roads this June, says Elon Musk
The Brief Elon Musk says Tesla's robotaxis will be launched on Austin roads by the end of next month Musk stated this in an interview with CNBC Tuesday The service will start with about 10 vehicles, then expand to thousands AUSTIN, Texas - Austinites can still expect to see Tesla's robotaxis driving alongside them come next month, says Elon Musk. Musk dropped the news in an interview Tuesday with CNBC at Tesla's headquarters in Austin. What we know Musk outlined the plan for the robotaxi service, saying it will start by the end of June with about 10 vehicles in Austin, then expand to thousands of vehicles should that launch go well with no incidents. CNBC reports that Tesla has said the robotaxis will be Model Y vehicles equipped with "a forthcoming version of FSD (full self-driving) known as FSD Unsupervised. An FSD Supervised ride-hailing service has been available for an "early set of employees" in Austin and San Francisco since April. Tesla unveils self-driving CyberCab, shows off Optimus robot at event Tesla's Austin 'Robotaxi' plan raises questions from U.S. safety agency The cars will be geo-fenced to Austin to start, but will operate without a human safety driver, says Musk. Instead, Tesla employees will be remotely monitoring the fleet. What's next Musk said in the interview that the company aims to take its robotaxis to Los Angeles and San Francisco after Austin. Big picture view Tesla is not the first company to bring robotaxi services to Austin. Currently, Waymo operates through Uber and also offers Waymo One, a public fully autonomous ride-hailing service that operates 24/7 with no human driver in the front seat. New safety concerns about Waymo driverless cars Caught on video: Waymo driverless car avoids hitting person falling off scooter Waymo driverless cars in Austin slammed with complaints Zoox, a subsidiary of Amazon, currently operates in Las Vegas with plans to expand to Austin, Miami and San Francisco. Zoox started testing its fleet in Austin last summer. Cruise, which was owned by General Motors, suspended their driverless operations in 2023 after reports of their autonomous cars struggling in traffic and even running over a pedestrian in California. That suspension later became permanent when the company announced it would not be relaunching the service after GM announced its full acquisition. Dig deeper Tesla's plan has prompted a U.S. agency to ask the company a list of safety questions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made their letter to Tesla public on May 12. The letter formally asks the company to address numerous concerns with automated driving specifications for the automated vehicles, including those involving interactions with pedestrians and adjustments to changing weather conditions. The letter says Tesla may be fined up to $27,874 per day if the agency does not receive a prompt response, with a maximum fine of $139,356,994. The NHTSA says a response is due by June 19. The Source Information in this report comes from CNBC, the websites of Waymo and Zoox, and previous reporting from FOX 7 Austin
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk says Tesla robotaxis will be geo-fenced and avoid some intersections after being asked about FSD running a red light
Tesla is planning to debut its robotaxi service next month in Austin. Business Insider tested Tesla's FSD Supervised software ahead of the launch. Tesla's FSD ran a red light at a complex intersection in San Francisco. Elon Musk said Tesla's robotaxis will be limited to certain parts of Austin and avoid intersections the company deems unsafe after the CEO was asked on TV about Business Insider's reporting on a critical error made by Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised software. In a May 17 story, two BI reporters took rides in a Waymo and a 2024 Tesla Model 3 equipped with the latest FSD software to compare both companies' autonomous driving technologies. Toward the end of the test, Tesla's FSD ran a red light at a complex intersection in San Francisco. During a discussion about Tesla's robotaxi launch, which is set for June in Austin, CNBC's David Faber asked Musk about BI's report. "I guess my question is, is that a concern at all for you in terms of it encountering things that are still sort of a crucial test, and perhaps it fails," Faber said. Musk said BI's test "made no sense" because it compared Tesla's FSD Supervised, which he said assumes a driver is behind the wheel and ready to take over, rather than FSD Unsupervised. BI noted in the story that the test compared a piece of Tesla technology that could be different from the software that will power the company's robotaxis. BI reported one of the test's goals was to see how far FSD had come since its beta rollout in 2020. Musk and a Tesla spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A Tesla spokesperson also didn't respond to a request for comment to BI's previous story about the driving test on May 17. In the CNBC interview, Musk didn't address specific details in BI's reporting. However, he said Tesla's robotaxis will be geo-fenced to certain parts of Austin. Alphabet's Waymo also uses geo-fencing to limit its autonomous cars to certain parts of a given city, including, for the moment, highways. "When we deploy the cars in Austin, we are actually going to deploy it not to the entire Austin region but only to the parts of Austin we consider to be the safest," Musk said on CNBC. "So we will geo-fence it." He added: "It's not going to take intersections unless we are highly confident it's going to do well with that intersection. Or it will just take a route around that intersection." BI's test showed that Waymo appeared to avoid the same intersection where Tesla FSD made the error. Instead, Waymo took BI through a route that was farther and less time-efficient, based on estimated time arrivals provided by Google Maps. During the CNBC interview, the Tesla CEO reiterated his prediction that Tesla's robotaxis will see a quick ramp-up after a limited rollout next month. "We'll start with probably 10 for a week, then increase it to 20, 30, 40," Musk said. "It will probably be at 1,000 within a few months." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Elon Musk says Tesla robotaxis will be geo-fenced and avoid some intersections after being asked about FSD running a red light
Elon Musk said Tesla's robotaxis will be limited to certain parts of Austin and avoid intersections the company deems unsafe after the CEO was asked on TV about Business Insider's reporting on a critical error made by Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised software. In a May 17 story, two BI reporters took rides in a Waymo and a 2024 Tesla Model 3 equipped with the latest FSD software to compare both companies' autonomous driving technologies. Toward the end of the test, Tesla's FSD ran a red light at a complex intersection in San Francisco. During a discussion about Tesla's robotaxi launch, which is set for June in Austin, CNBC's David Faber asked Musk about BI's report. "I guess my question is, is that a concern at all for you in terms of it encountering things that are still sort of a crucial test, and perhaps it fails," Faber said. Musk said BI's test "made no sense" because it compared Tesla's FSD Supervised, which he said assumes a driver is behind the wheel and ready to take over, rather than FSD Unsupervised. BI noted in the story that the test compared a piece of Tesla technology that could be different from the software that will power the company's robotaxis. BI reported one of the test's goals was to see how far FSD had come since its beta rollout in 2020. Musk and a Tesla spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A Tesla spokesperson also didn't respond to a request for comment to BI's previous story about the driving test on May 17. In the CNBC interview, Musk didn't address specific details in BI's reporting. However, he said Tesla's robotaxis will be geo-fenced to certain parts of Austin. Alphabet's Waymo also uses geo-fencing to limit its autonomous cars to certain parts of a given city, including, for the moment, highways. "When we deploy the cars in Austin, we are actually going to deploy it not to the entire Austin region but only to the parts of Austin we consider to be the safest," Musk said on CNBC. "So we will geo-fence it." He added: "It's not going to take intersections unless we are highly confident it's going to do well with that intersection. Or it will just take a route around that intersection." BI's test showed that Waymo appeared to avoid the same intersection where Tesla FSD made the error. Instead, Waymo took BI through a route that was farther and less time-efficient, based on estimated time arrivals provided by Google Maps. During the CNBC interview, the Tesla CEO reiterated his prediction that Tesla's robotaxis will see a quick ramp-up after a limited rollout next month. "We'll start with probably 10 for a week, then increase it to 20, 30, 40," Musk said. "It will probably be at 1,000 within a few months."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's Tesla Teases FSD Capabilities Ahead Of June Robotaxi Event
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has touted the company's FSD (Full Self-Driving) technology ahead of next month's Robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas. What Happened: A video posted by a handle on X called Whole Mars Catalog showcased a Tesla vehicle navigating its way through traffic using Supervised FSD near Los Angeles's LAX airport on Saturday. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Tesla's official handle on X then quoted the video on Sunday. "LAX is no problem for FSD Supervised," the EV giant said in the post. The post was also reposted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Why It Matters: As Musk's EV giant is gearing itself up for the launch of its robotaxi in Austin, the company has hit a snag as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant the company trademarks on "Robotaxi" as well as "Cybercab." Elsewhere, Tesla asked its workers to stay at home as the company extended the Memorial Day break amid a 13% drop in deliveries and inventory piling up at Tesla dealerships. On the other hand, the EV manufacturer continues to wrestle with poor sales figures both within the U.S. as well as in regions like Europe. Recently, the company also offered free FSD transfers for its customers on all of its models in a bid to boost sales. However, analysts are still optimistic about Musk's company's future as analyst Gary Black believes that Tesla will reap the benefits of increased EV adoption as well as autonomous driving. Read Next: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Invest before it's too late. 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.30/share with a $1000 minimum. Image Via Shutterstock Send To MSN: Send to MSN UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Elon Musk's Tesla Teases FSD Capabilities Ahead Of June Robotaxi Event originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
