Tesla is coming in hot in New York City and regulators, legislators and consumers are already pushing back.
The electric car company’s latest foray into regulator wrestling comes via a hiring push for autopilot drivers in NYC, despite holding no permits for that service in the city. Given that Tesla has already spent years fighting federal probes, civil and criminal lawsuits and a host of scrutiny from everyone from the SEC to local politicians, its new push appears to be a further continuation of asking forgiveness later instead of permission up from.
What is Tesla planning in NYC?
According to local job postings, the company is now ramping up efforts to develop its self-driving technology, recruiting drivers in Queens to operate vehicles equipped with “automated driving systems,” despite failing to secure the necessary permits for autonomous testing within the city.
According to Tesla’s listing, these roles involve long-distance driving of specially outfitted vehicles, with a focus on collecting audio and video data to improve its self-driving software.
However, New York’s Department of Transportation (DOT) have confirmed that Tesla has not applied for the permits required to legally test autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the city. Without those approvals, the company cannot operate robotaxis on public streets, the DOT said, and could face the same continued regulator smackdown it has felt in places like California and Arizona.
The fight over Tesla’s testing grounds is already heating up, and it has only been a day since the first job postings went up. The DOT has since pointed out that any permitted AV testing company must have a “trained safety driver behind the wheel at all times,” prepared to take control if needed.
While Tesla’s job postings suggest field testing is underway, the company’s efforts remain in the preliminary stage due to the lack of official clearance. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo, considered the leader in North American robotaxi technology, has submitted its own permit application and is awaiting approval, but has also faced its own share of pressure from legislators and lawsuits brought by consumers and oversight agencies.
How far do Tesla’s autonomous driving ambitions span?
New York is just the latest battleground in a fight Tesla is waging across the country. The automaker is hiring test drivers in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, and Palo Alto, all which are near locations where Tesla maintains engineering centers. These listings imply ongoing data collection efforts for Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) system, which the company currently markets as “FSD Unsupervised” in the U.S.
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