Texas Safety Advocates Raise Alarm in Advance of Tesla Robotaxi Launch

Austin road safety advocates are sounding the alarm about Tesla’s impending launch of self-driving taxis in the Texas capital, reports Aaron Short in Streetsblog USA.

“Musk is releasing a new hazard onto Austin streets, and should halt it immediately,” said Chris Womack, an organizer with ResistAustin. One group of volunteers sought to prove their point by staging a test with an autonomous Tesla Model Y, which failed to stop for a school bus and hit a child-sized dummy placed near the bus — eight times.

“Texas transportation officials say they’re closely supervising Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, which Musk told CNBC would consist of 10 to 20 vehicles.” However, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles does not have direct authority over the vehicles’ operation. Texas has limited regulation at the state level, barring cities from regulating AVs on their own.

A proposed bill could allow the DMV to regulate AVs and require operators to provide information and safety records.