More from Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi rollout: the biggest news and announcements
Tesla’s robotaxis have been on the road in Austin for just three days, and already there have been nearly a dozen incidents of bad driving behavior.
By most accounts, the company’s robotaxi launch in Austin yesterday went off without a hitch. Most of the Tesla fans and influencers who received invites to test it out said the experience was “smooth” and “natural.” But you knew something was going to happen, and that something turned out to be a robotaxi briefly driving in the opposite lane of traffic. Not a good look.
An industry-favored 2017 law made Texas a hotbed for AV investment, but critics say safeguards are needed as driverless cars fill public roads.
Interestingly, the UX seems to prioritize video streaming over any kind of trip visualization. Tesla seems to think people would rather watch movies than be assured their driverless car can see other cars and pedestrians. (They’re probably right, too.)
Elon Musk promised a brighter future, but believing him requires an enormous leap of faith.
Tesla shares are trading down as much as six percent premarket, a few hours after digesting the Cybercabs and ruBOvehns.
It’s wearing a cowboy hat, for some reason.
Lots to parse. A few surprises. But as we’ve said before, the robotaxis are operating in a highly controlled setting and none of this is guaranteed to launch when Musk predicts it will. So stay tuned.
The bots will be mingling with guests at the event, Musk says, who implores his guests to “be nice” to the robots.
Elon is putting the emphasis on the “bo” in robovan, so I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying at first. But yeah, it’s obviously not a conventional looking van.
