tesla robotaxi may use rotatable seats

2024-09-05

teslais asking regulators for permission to install unusual seats in its cars, hinting at what its upcoming robotaxi will look like.

according to an article published by @techau on х, in june this year, tesla submitted an application to the national transport commission (ntc) of australia to participate in industry consultation. he pointed out that the document contains some interesting statements from the company about the future of self-driving cars. the document discusses the changes required in australian law to allow fully self-driving robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals and equipped with unusual seats.

tesla wrote in the filing:

"at this time, we do not consider vehicle controls or seat design to be appropriate determinants of relevant user obligations.we are concerned that overly conservative requirements will burden the vehicle design innovations that greater automation would allow.”

currently, the driver and front passenger seats of cars face the road. however, with the advent of fully autonomous cars, this may change, as human drivers will no longer be needed to supervise the driving process at all times. therefore, tesla said that, for example, the front seats could have a swivel function, turning the driver to face the rear seat. according to tesla, in cars with l4 autonomous driving functions, this will not be a problem.

"vehicle designs with fully reclining or swivel seats, or designs without forward-facing seats, or designs with only middle seating positions (such as in heavy vehicles) are all conceivable, provided that appropriate safety measures are taken. furthermore, even in the case of dual-mode vehicles,can provide fallback or direct control capabilities by remote operators。”

tesla semi-trailer seat configuration

back in 2019, in a patent application for "improper seat belt use detection," tesla said the vehicle shown in the image below "can be a passenger car, truck, sport utility vehicle, or van." this is consistent with tesla's vision for self-driving cars.

on october 10, tesla will unveil robotaxi, a car that doesn't require a human driver. there aren't many details about it yet, but elon is likely to design it without traditional controls like pedals, steering wheels, or rearview mirrors. this filing in australia sheds more light on what robotaxi will look like. it also shows that tesla has begun working with regulators around the world to get robotaxi on the road.

a sample video of a four-seat robotaxi rotating seat made by a netizen. source: bestintesla@x

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tesla robotaxi may use rotatable seats

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