Texas Democrats ask Tesla to postpone the launch of robotaxis due to a new law

In the US, a group of Democratic Texas lawmakers on Wednesday urged Tesla Inc to postpone its plans to launch robotaxis in Austin, Texas, due to a new autonomous driving law.

Reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.

Details

A group of Democratic Texas lawmakers has asked Tesla to postpone the long-awaited launch of robotaxis in Austin until September of this year, that is, until the implementation of the new autonomous driving law.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, the group of Austin lawmakers stated that delaying the launch, which CEO Elon Musk said could "tentatively" happen this Sunday, would be "in the best interest of both public safety and the public's trust in Tesla's operations."

If Tesla decides to proceed with the launch this month, the lawmakers asked Tesla to provide "detailed information" demonstrating how Tesla will comply with the new state law during the launch.

It is unknown how influential the letter from Democratic lawmakers will be in a state where Republicans hold the governorship and a majority in both legislative chambers.

For reference

Last year, Musk bet Tesla's future on autonomous driving technology as the company abandoned the pursuit of rapid EV sales growth.

In January, Musk announced that Tesla would offer "autonomous money rides in Austin in June." Investors have been closely watching the Austin launch since then.

 Many of them tie a significant portion of Tesla's stock market value to hopes for robotaxis and humanoid robots that the company has not yet created.

To recall

Tesla has presented a prototype of the Robovan autonomous electric vehicle for transporting up to 20 people. Production will begin in 2026, and the price will be less than $30,000.

Tesla showed a video of a driverless Model Y car in Austin. The company plans to launch its robotaxi service in the Texas capital as early as June 12.