By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) – U.S. highway security regulators are examining responses Tesla gave in response to the firm’s questions about the safety of its self-driving robotaxi in bad weather, the company said on Friday, ahead of plans to release the lorries as quickly as this weekend.
Tesla has actually sent out invites to a little group of people to join in a minimal test of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which is tentatively set to start on Sunday, according to posts and email screenshots on social networks.
In a letter last month, NHTSA asked Tesla to address detailed concerns by June 19 on its plans to launch paid robotaxi service in Austin, to assess how the electrical automobile maker’s cars and trucks with complete self-driving technology will perform in poor weather.
The company stated it has received Tesla’s response “and remains in the process of evaluating it. Once our review has been completed the public file will be updated.”
Tesla did not right away react to a request for comment.
The invites stated a Tesla staff member will accompany riders in the front guest seat, the posts showed. NHTSA asked Tesla if cars “will be supervised or otherwise monitored by Tesla in genuine time.”
NHTSA has actually been examining Tesla complete self-driving accidents in lowered street presence conditions because October. The probe covers 2.4 million Tesla lorries geared up with full self-driving innovation after four reported collisions, including a 2023 deadly crash.
The agency said in May it was looking for extra details about Tesla’s development of robotaxis “to examine the ability of Tesla’s system to react appropriately to lowered roadway presence conditions” also details on robotaxi release strategies and the information technology being used.
NHTSA stated in May it desires to understand how many lorries will be used as robotaxis and the expected schedule for accessibility of robotaxi technology for cars controlled by individuals besides Tesla.
NHTSA’s letter asked Tesla to describe how it means to ensure the safety of robotaxi operations in lowered street presence conditions such as sun glare, fog, dust, rain, or snow. It also wishes to know what happens if bad visibility is experienced during a trip.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has actually said he will concentrate on safety in the trial, with humans from another location monitoring the automobiles. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)