To give the final approval for Tesla's Robotaxi, U.S. regulators review responses to safety issues

Zhitong
2025.06.23 00:24
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The U.S. highway safety regulator is reviewing Tesla's response regarding the safety issues of its autonomous driving taxi (Robotaxi) in severe weather conditions. Tesla plans to conduct limited testing in Austin, Texas, and has invited select individuals to participate. The NHTSA has requested Tesla to answer a series of questions by June 19 to assess the performance of its autonomous driving technology. This review involves 2.4 million Tesla vehicles, and the NHTSA seeks to understand the deployment plans and related technologies for the autonomous driving taxi

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the U.S. highway safety regulatory agency is reviewing Tesla's (TSLA.US) response regarding the safety issues of its autonomous driving taxi (Robotaxi) under severe weather conditions. The agency stated on Friday that this move is based on its plans to deploy these vehicles as soon as possible this weekend. Posts on social media and screenshots of emails show that Tesla has invited a small number of individuals to participate in limited testing in Austin, Texas, which is tentatively scheduled to begin on Sunday.

In a letter last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requested Tesla to answer a series of detailed questions by June 19 to assess the performance of the electric vehicle manufacturer's vehicles equipped with full autonomous driving technology under severe weather conditions and to evaluate its plans to launch a paid autonomous taxi service in Austin. The agency stated that it has received Tesla's response and is currently reviewing it. Public records will be updated after the review is completed.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. These invitations indicate that a Tesla employee will accompany passengers in the front passenger seat. The posts also mentioned that NHTSA inquired whether Tesla would "supervise or monitor" the vehicles in real-time.

Since October of last year, NHTSA has been investigating fully autonomous driving incidents involving Tesla under low visibility conditions. This investigation covers 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with full autonomous driving technology, following four incidents, including a fatal accident that occurred in 2023.

The agency stated in May that it is seeking more information about Tesla's development of autonomous taxis "to assess the responsiveness of Tesla's system under low visibility conditions" and detailed information regarding the autonomous taxi deployment plans and the technology used.

NHTSA expressed in May its desire to understand how many vehicles will be used as autonomous taxis and the expected timeline for the availability of autonomous technology for non-Tesla controlled vehicles.

The NHTSA letter requested Tesla to describe how it intends to ensure the safety of autonomous operations under low visibility conditions (such as sun glare, fog, raised dust, rain, or snow). The agency also wanted to know how it would handle situations with poor visibility during driving.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that he will focus on safety during this trial, with human remote monitoring of the vehicles

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