Latest news with #TeslaRobotaxis
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Tesla secures strategic 5-year warehouse lease in Mumbai amidst expansion plans
Tesla has leased a 24,565 square foot property in Mumbai for warehousing purposes. (REUTERS) Notify me Tesla India has taken on lease 24,565 square feet warehousing space in Lodha Logistics Park in Mumbai at a starting monthly rent of ₹ 37.53 lakh, according to CRE Matrix. Real estate data analytics firm CRE Matrix has reviewed the registration documents. Tesla India Motor & Energy Pvt Ltd has taken the warehousing space, located at Kurla-West in Mumbai, on lease for 5 years. The space has been taken from Macrotech Developers Ltd, which is developing this logistics park. Also Read : Tesla not interested in manufacturing in India, keen on opening showrooms: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy The rent commencement date is June 1, 2025. There will be a rent escalation of 5 per cent per annum. The total rent outgo is estimated at ₹ 24 crore for the entire 5-year lease period. Also Read : Tesla Cybertruck spotted on Indian roads but there is a catch… "Tesla's India entry is taking shape through a deliberate, multi-city rollout -- from its office in Pune to flagship showrooms in BKC and Delhi-NCR, co-working presence in BKC and now a strategic warehousing facility in Kurla-West Mumbai. This 24,565 sq ft lease at ₹ 153 per square feet is more than a real estate transactions -- its a signal of intent," CRE Matrix CEO Abhishek Kiran Gupta said. Also Read : Tesla Robotaxis are finally here, but you'll need an invite to catch a ride. Here's why Listed entity Macrotech Developers, which sells properties under Lodha brand, did not comment on the lease transaction. On Monday, Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy said that global EV giant Tesla is not interested in manufacturing cars in India but keen on establishing showrooms in the country. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: 03 Jun 2025, 19:01 PM IST
ArabGT
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- ArabGT
Tesla Robotaxis Under Fire as Federal Investigation Uncovers Safety Fears
As Tesla prepared to make a major leap with its paid autonomous ride service, a federal warning landed with force. On May 12, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent Tesla an official demand for comprehensive disclosures about the upcoming Tesla Robotaxis set to launch in Austin, Texas. Tesla Robotaxis now face intense regulatory scrutiny What was meant to mark a transformative chapter for Tesla turned into a moment of reckoning. A detailed letter spanning more than 15 pages from the NHTSA raised a host of safety concerns, dampening the excitement around Tesla Robotaxis and igniting uncertainty among investors. The central issue: Is Tesla ready to place fully driverless vehicles on public roads? The agency's request was anything but light. It imposed a June 19 deadline for Tesla to respond and warned of daily fines reaching $27,874 per violation. Among the 58 questions, regulators demanded specifics about the autonomous fleet's size, the types of cameras and sensors used, remote operation systems, and backup protocols for poor weather—conditions that have already proven problematic for Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised (FSD Supervised) technology. NHTSA also asked how the current FSD Supervised system—still requiring driver oversight—relates to the upcoming Tesla Robotaxis, which promise full autonomy without human input. The agency wants details on safety architecture, computing hardware, and compliance with global safety standards like ISO 26262 and UL 4600. Essentially, regulators are demanding a full roadmap before Tesla's driverless cars hit the streets through a customer-facing app. This level of scrutiny isn't sudden. It builds on an investigation (PE24031) launched in October 2024 into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles after several crashes in low-visibility conditions, including a fatal pedestrian accident in Arizona in 2023. Tesla was later compelled to recall over two million vehicles in December 2023 to add software controls aimed at reducing Autopilot misuse. However, NHTSA is still evaluating whether those updates go far enough. The current probe deepens that inquiry—now zeroing in on whether Tesla Robotaxis are being promoted with capabilities that exceed what the system can safely deliver. Yet despite the growing regulatory wall, Elon Musk has remained defiant. On April 23, he announced the successful conclusion of an internal ride-hailing test for Tesla employees in Austin and San Francisco, reporting over 1,500 trips. Musk continues to tout his vision of a global fleet of Tesla Robotaxis, capable of turning every car into a money-making asset. But now, that vision is under threat. Analysts warn that the consequences could be severe. Beyond fines, Tesla could face a full-blown engineering investigation or even another recall—both of which would disrupt the company's projected $50 billion in annual revenue from Tesla Robotaxis by 2030. All of this adds pressure to an already difficult year, with slow sales and repeated delays to Tesla's long-awaited affordable EV. That entry-level model, seen as a vital piece of Tesla's growth strategy, has once again been paused—leaving more room for competitors like China's BYD to seize market share. Now the countdown begins. Tesla has just five weeks to persuade regulators that Tesla Robotaxis are safe enough to handle complex real-world conditions without human drivers. Failing that, Tesla could be forced to delay—or even reconsider—its entire autonomous ride-hailing strategy. While some view the federal pushback as a setback for innovation, others see it as an essential pause—one that ensures autonomous vehicles don't outpace safety standards. Whether Elon Musk manages to turn the challenge into triumph or hits the brakes on the Tesla Robotaxis rollout remains uncertain.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Austinites should have a say in Waymo driverless robotaxis taking to our streets
Driverless robotaxis have officially taken to the streets of Austin, with Uber riders now able to select a Waymo autonomous vehicle to get to their destination. Tesla is not far behind: CEO Elon Musk told investors in a fourth-quarter earnings call that he plans to have thousands of driverless vehicles, known as the Tesla Robotaxis or Cybercabs, throughout Austin by June. "This is not some far-off mythical situation. It's literally five, six months away," Musk said in late January. In Austin, where residents have input on everything from the size of the police department to zoning in their neighborhoods, the Texas Legislature has made sure they will have no say in being guinea pigs for this technology. The track record for robotaxis raises serious questions about whether they should be tested on our busy and crowded city streets. Companies promoting robotaxi have praised Texas' hands-off approach to regulation. State law allows autonomous vehicle companies free access to public streets provided they are registered and insured, like any human-driven car, and equipped with technology to record data about potential crashes. State law forbids cities and counties from enacting their own driverless-vehicle regulations. Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into robotaxis operated by Waymo, which is owned by the same company as Google, over 31 incidents that included vehicles ramming into a closing gate and driving on the wrong side of the road. There is also a federal investigation into GM's Cruise after one of its cars hit and dragged a jaywalking pedestrian in San Francisco. A Washington Post reporter in San Francisco recently described the dangers of crossing the street when driverless cars are present. 'When I try to cross my street at a marked crosswalk, the Waymo robotaxis often wouldn't yield to me,' reporter Geoffrey A. Fowler wrote. 'I would step out into the white-striped pavement, look at the Waymo, wait to see whether it's going to stop — and the car would zip right past.' General Motors recently announced it would no longer fund its Cruise self-driving robotaxis after accidents led to a federal investigation. After investing $10 billion in the technology, GM cited the "considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market." The argument for Texas' hands-off attitude has been the claim that regulations stymie innovations. Innovation is important, but it must not come at the expense of safety. Austin residents should be able to have a say in whether this unproven technology is allowed on our city streets. Amy Witherite is a board-certified attorney and traffic safety expert. She is the founder of the Witherite Law Group. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Why didn't Austin get a say in having Waymo driverless robotaxis?
