In October, Tesla finally presented its robotaxi, called CyberCab. It is an autonomous vehicle, without steering wheel or pedals, which will, in the future, be able to transport passengers. But at the moment, we don’t know when Tesla will start deploying its Cybercabs. And we don’t know where these robotaxis will be able to circulate. However, it seems that the manufacturer is interested in Austin, a city in Texas.
Tesla reportedly in discussions with several cities, including Austin
In any case, this is what is suggested by an article published by Bloomberg a few days ago. The American agency indicates that it was able to access correspondence between a Tesla employee and the Austin authorities. “Tesla is still working on finding a strategic city in Texas for deployment… The city of Austin is obviously on our roadmap, but we have not yet decided where we will deploy first, because we have many options,” for example, the Tesla employee allegedly wrote in an email sent in November.
Deploying autonomous vehicles: a complex operation
In any case, it will not be easy for Tesla to deploy its Cybercabs, even in the United States. Indeed, unlike Waymo’s robotaxis, Tesla’s have neither pedals nor steering wheel. And that makes getting the different green lights even more complicated. But at the same time, according to an article published by Bloomberg in November, Donald Trump’s team intends to change the United States’ rules regarding self-driving cars.
Otherwise, remember that Tesla’s most serious competitor in this sector is Waymo (Alphabet subsidiary). It already offers autonomous car trips in the cities of Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And Waymo is currently preparing its arrival in Austin, Atlanta and Miami. Currently, its robotaxis service already makes 150,000 trips per week.
- This year, Tesla finally presented its robotaxi, called Cybercab
- According to Bloomberg, it would be in discussions with the authorities of the city of Austin for the deployment
- But other cities are also considered by Tesla
- Currently, Tesla’s main competitor in this sector is Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, which already makes 150,000 trips per week
