NEW YORK (AP) – Federal security rulers have asked Elon Musk's car company to explain how the taxis without director will not cause accidents when they go on the road next month in Texas before a national launch “robotaxi” that is the key to keep the stock rate up.
Tesla has been told to provide information about how his taxis will work safely in Austin, Texas, when fog, sun stay, rain and other low visibility conditions are linked to accidents with the company's driver's software. Those accidents, including one who killed a pedestrian, led to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to start an investigation in October of 2.4 million vehicles from Musk.
The billionaire investors insured last month on a profit call that the Robotaxi service in Austin would be launched as planned and quickly lead to millions of robotaxis and other autonomous self-driving Teslas who are active in the country towards the end of the year.
“We expect a green light after Tesla's reaction, but the big focus is on more widespread launches in the US after the Austin pilot starts,” said Wedbush Securities Stock Analyst Dan Ives. “It's a crucial time for Musk.”
With the same call, Musk said he took a step back from his work as the cost -saving tsar of President Donald Trump. The shares of Tesla have since risen by 45%, but they have still fallen around 17% to date.
Regulators ask routinely asking for safety information from car manufacturers and the order from NHTSA itself is not alarming, although this can lead to delays from Austin's launch if Tesla's answers to the letter from nine pages on Monday were made public by the office on Monday. The agency gave Tesla until 19 June to give a response.
Federal supervisors have limited powers about new Tesla taxis that work without a steering wheel or brake pedals because there are no national regulations for self-driving technology. A fall back is that the vehicles themselves still have long -term safety controls past.
“NHTSA can force a recall, or 'voluntarily' by Tesla, or by ordering a recall,” said Ann Carlson, the former acting NHTSA chef. “However, the agency cannot require a kind of pre-approval before Tesla can be launched.”
In the letter, supervisors asked Tesla various questions in addition to those about low visibility conditions. They asked for the number and models of the taxis, when and where the taxis will be deployed in the coming months, how they are remotely checked by Tesla in real time, the cameras and other sensors used to guide the vehicles, the specific measures used to assess whether they make the street in a safe way.
