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as autonomous driving technology continues to develop,teslaperformance in this area is attracting global attention.

however, an accident in las vegas a few months ago raised concerns about the so-called "fully autonomous ride-hailing" systems currently in operation.

some drivers are taking advantage of the gray area of ​​u.s. regulation to conduct such business, which poses considerable safety risks.

in april, an uber ride with passengers crashed into an suv at an intersection in suburban las vegas. at the time of the accident, the online ride-hailing car was driving tesla's autonomous driving service (fsd, full-self driving).

uber driver justin yoon said on social media that although the suv drove out of the blind spot caused by another vehicle, tesla's system failed to slow down the vehicle in time.

at the time of the accident, yoon's hands were off the steering wheel, allowing the tesla to travel at a speed of 74 km/h.

although he took over control at the last moment and tried to avoid the collision, he was ultimately unable to dodge and the vehicle was scrapped. fortunately, he and his passengers only suffered minor injuries.

according to police reports, the driver of the suv who failed to yield was at fault and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

according to reports, a considerable number of online ride-hailing drivers in the united states are currently using tesla's fsd software.

the $99-a-month service has some limitations, but drivers say it makes driving less stressful, allowing them to work longer and earn more.

sergio avedian, a ride-hailing driver in los angeles, usa, is a youtube blogger. his the rideshare guy channel has nearly 200,000 subscribers.

he estimates that about 30% to 40% of tesla ride-hailing drivers in the united states regularly use the fsd system, but he himself avoids using the system when transporting passengers.

it’s worth noting that uber recently updated its software to support sending passenger destination information directly to tesla’s navigation system, a move that further makes it easier for drivers using fsd.

however, experts say that neither tesla nor online ride-hailing companies such as uber and lyft can accurately know whether drivers are using both the online ride-hailing platform and the fsd system.

both uber and lyft say the responsibility for driving safety lies with the driver. uber emphasizes in its community guidelines that drivers should ensure passengers feel safe even if certain driving behaviors are not illegal.

at the same time, tesla also reminds drivers using fsd to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times and be ready to take over control. but these non-mandatory measures seem far from enough.

on the regulatory front, while nearly all major automakers have some form of assisted driving systems, most are restricted to highway use and have limited functionality.

by contrast, tesla claims its fsd system can drive autonomously almost anywhere, requiring only "continuous supervision and minimal intervention" from the driver.

industry experts say this practice is worrisome from a security perspective. they recommended that u.s. regulators develop basic non-binding guidelines to prevent the misuse of such technology, and even floated the idea of ​​banning such technology in ride-hailing services.

u.s. regulators are now aware of the crash and have contacted tesla for more information.

relevant departments in california, nevada and arizona said that because fsd systems do not fall within the scope of robotaxi or autonomous vehicle regulation, they cannot regulate the practice.

in this context, tesla ceo elon musk(elon musk) a robotaxi event is planned for october 10th.

this conference named "we robot" is highly anticipated, but it also faces tremendous pressure.

musk has previously envisioned a network of self-driving taxis operated by tesla that would allow owners to put their own vehicles into operation during their idle time and earn extra money.

it is worth noting that tesla seems to have shifted its strategic focus to the development of robotaxi and even abandoned plans for new models including a $25,000 compact electric car.

musk said that this decision stems from his great confidence in tesla’s fsd v12 version.

however, the preparations for this conference did not seem to go smoothly. the original event date of august 8 was postponed to october 10 because more time was needed to prepare the robotaxi prototype.

some ride-hailing drivers have high expectations for the tesla event. driver kaz barnes has used fsd services more than 2,000 times to transport passengers since 2022, and he looks forward to one day having his car join musk's robotaxi network.

as the october 10 launch event approaches, the industry generally believes that this will be tesla's most important new product launch since the launch of the optimus robot two years ago. but experts are mostly cautious.

currently, tesla's revenue has leveled off and vehicle deliveries appear to have peaked. even if the robotaxi project succeeds, tesla will still have to prove it can turn the new product into a stable revenue stream.

although tesla's fsd service performs well, it has not yet reached the level of unsupervised driving on public roads.

in fact, tesla hasn’t even applied for a self-driving car testing license.

the regulatory issues of robotaxi cannot be ignored, because the lessons learned by operators such as waymo and cruise are still fresh in our minds, and we will see how tesla responds.

references:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-bet-robotaxis-is-long-way-paying-off-2024-04-05/

https://www.axios.com/2024/10/02/tesla-robotaxi-event-preview-musk

operation/typesetting: he chenlong