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Tech News
Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are evaluating a petition requesting a formal investigation into reports that Tesla's driverless robotaxis sped through school zones. The petition cites alleged violations of posted speed limits in areas meant to protect children.
A commentary piece argues that as autonomous ride-hailing becomes cheaper and more common, consumers will stop choosing cars by manufacturer brand and instead simply summon whichever vehicle an app sends. It cites a hypothetical example of airport rides dropping from $70 to $20 once driverless fleets scale.
At an Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League event held at Italy's Imola circuit, a self-driving car built by PoliMove collided with a slowing Unimore vehicle at the track's demanding Rivazza corner sequence while traveling around 155 mph. Only two of five finalists completed the race, with Kinetiz taking first place and Constructor Racing second, while PoliMove's damaged car had to be swapped out before the podium ceremony, and TUM withdrew earlier after a brake issue.
Aurora executives told investors it expects to scale from about 200 driverless trucks by the end of 2026 to over 30,000 by 2030, generating $5 billion in annual revenue. CFO David Maday said the figure is modest relative to the 250,000-300,000 new trucks produced annually by major manufacturers. Despite the projections, Aurora's stock fell over 12% following its September 23 investor day and has continued declining.
Waymo released new safety data claiming its autonomous vehicles caused 82% fewer injury-related crashes and 95% fewer serious-injury crashes than human drivers, based on 271 million driverless miles through June across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta and Phoenix. The company also reported reductions in injury crashes involving pedestrians (93%), cyclists (86%) and motorcyclists (82%), and shared video of near-misses it says its system avoided.
A report describes early deployment of driverless machinery for waste-handling tasks at dump and landfill operations, part of a broader wave of automation coverage that also touched on AI alliances, alternative education paths in tech, and robotics investment in the K-pop industry. Details on the specific companies or technology providers behind the driverless dump equipment were not fully specified.
A Waymo robotaxi drove into the South Pearl Street Farmers Market in Denver on September 20, about 20 minutes before vendors were set to open, after barricades had been temporarily moved aside to let vendor vehicles through during setup. Market staff scrambled to stop the driverless car and clear its path, though no injuries occurred and organizers said it wasn't moving recklessly. Waymo says its system recognized the situation and steered itself back out, while the city plans to work with the company on protocols for future incidents.
Tesla has expanded its driverless robotaxi service beyond the Model Y to include the Cybercab, a two-seat vehicle featuring butterfly doors, touchscreens, and no steering wheel. A promotional video for the new vehicle went viral, but drew backlash from disability advocates who say its design overlooks accessibility needs.
Waymo has started offering driverless rides to the public in San Diego, Tampa and Denver, marking its first commercial operations in Colorado, while Amazon's Zoox announced plans to begin testing its vehicles with human safety drivers in Houston and San Diego. Zoox says it will operate in 12 U.S. markets once those two cities launch, though its only paid service remains in Las Vegas.
Autonomous box-truck startup Gatik has raised $200 million, its largest round yet, led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies with backing from Millennium Management, ARK Invest, and Intact Private Capital. The raise comes two months after Gatik signed a multi-year commercial agreement with PepsiCo, bringing its total funding since 2019 to roughly $500 million. The company did not disclose its current valuation.