Launching Sunday Tomorrow, US Regulators Conduct Strict Review Of Tesla's Robotaxi

Robotaxi will test its first service at Austin, Texas, on June 22. (Doc. TeslaownersSV)

JAKARTA The United States highway safety regulator (NHTSA) is intensively reviewing the answers Tesla has given regarding the safety of their self-driving robotaxi service in poor weather conditions. This review was carried out ahead of Tesla's plan to immediately launch the autonomous vehicle this weekend (Sunday, June 22) in Austin, Texas.

Launching from Reuters, Saturday, June 21, Tesla has sent an invitation to a small group of individuals to participate in a limited trial of robotaxi services in Austin, which is planned to start on Sunday. NHTSA has previously asked Tesla to provide a detailed answer no later than June 19, regarding the planned launch of this paid robotaxi service. The main focus of NHTSA's question is how Tesla's electric vehicles with full self-driving technology will operate in bad weather conditions.

NHTSA confirmed that they had received responses from Tesla and were in the process of being reviewed. "After our review is complete, public files will be updated," NHTSA said. In an invitation circulating on social media, it is stated that a Tesla employee will accompany passengers in the front seat. This is in line with NHTSA's question to Tesla about whether the vehicle will be "supervised or monitored in real-time by Tesla."

Since last October, NHTSA has investigated collisions involving Tesla vehicles with full self-driving in reduced road visibility conditions. The investigation covers 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the technology, following four collision reports, including one fatal crash in 2023. NHTSA wants to ensure Tesla's system's ability to react appropriately to poor road visibility conditions such as solar silau, fog, dust in the air, rain, or snow, as well as details regarding plans to implement robotaxi and the technology used.

NHTSA also wants to know how many vehicles will be used as robotaxi and the schedule for the availability of robotaxi technology for vehicles controlled by other parties besides Tesla. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that he will focus on safety in this trial, with remote human surveillance of the vehicle. This launch is an important milestone for Tesla's ambitions in autonomous vehicle technology, but with intense scrutiny from regulators to ensure public safety.