Safety concerns raised! Tesla's Austin autonomous taxi project sparks protests
Tesla's launch of an autonomous taxi project in Austin, Texas has sparked protests. Public safety advocates and political protesters gathered downtown to express concerns about the project, pointing out the safety risks associated with Tesla's autonomous driving system. Protesters showcased a Model Y equipped with the new FSD software crashing into a dummy during a demonstration, highlighting the potential risks of the technology
According to the Zhitong Finance APP, as Elon Musk set June 22 as the preliminary date for Tesla (TSLA.US) to launch its autonomous taxi pilot service in Austin, Texas, protests have also arisen. Public safety advocates and political protesters gathered in downtown Austin on Thursday to express their concerns about the launch of the autonomous taxi project. These protesters included members of groups such as the Dawn Project, Tesla Takedown, and Resist Austin, who pointed out safety hazards in Tesla's partial autonomous driving systems.
It is reported that Tesla currently sells cars in the United States equipped with standard automated driving assistance systems or the more advanced "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) option. These systems have features such as automatic lane keeping, automatic steering, and automatic parking. According to data tracked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), vehicles equipped with these systems have been involved in hundreds of collision incidents, including dozens of fatal accidents.
Earlier this week, Musk showcased the appearance of Tesla's autonomous taxi in a video posted on social media. These vehicles are new versions of Tesla's popular Model Y, equipped with the upcoming FSD software. The "unsupervised" version of FSD, which is the autonomous driving technology, is not yet available to the public.
Critics of Tesla from The Dawn Project, which claims to be engaged in technology safety and safety education, brought a Model Y installed with the relatively new FSD software (version 13.2.9) to demonstrate how it works to residents of Austin. In Thursday's demonstration, they showcased a scenario where a Tesla with FSD enabled sped past a parked school bus with a stop sign raised, then crashed into a life-sized mannequin they placed in front of the car, resembling a child.
However, it is worth mentioning that Dan O’Dowd, the CEO of The Dawn Project, is also the head of Green Hills Software, a company that sells technology products to Tesla's competitors, including Ford and Toyota.
Other participants in the protest also expressed dissatisfaction with Musk's role in the Trump administration. In addition, they voiced a lack of confidence in Tesla's safety standards and claimed that the company lacks transparency regarding how its autonomous taxis operate
