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Tech News
Waymo is expanding its teen account program, launched in Phoenix last year, to Nashville, letting riders aged 13-17 use its robotaxis with a parent or guardian linked to the account. Teens can hail rides anywhere within Waymo's Nashville service area and bring up to three friends aged 13-17 along. A company spokesperson said this is the first of many such launches planned across additional markets in coming months.
Tesla has published emergency-response guidance instructing firefighters to contact two separate company support lines if they need to deal with a Cybataxi accident or need to move the vehicle. Because the Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, responders must first call support to gain control before accessing virtual onboard controls via the car's touchscreen. Tesla has added a QR code to the windshield's lower left corner as a reference guide for these procedures.
Waymo has launched a new incentive program with Visa that credits riders $2.85 toward future robotaxi trips when they use a Visa card to pay for both a Waymo ride and public transit within a two-hour window. The pilot starts in the San Francisco-Bay Area and builds on earlier standalone tests Waymo ran in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but this version relies on Visa's payment data to verify qualifying trips automatically.
As robotaxis from multiple companies expand on public roads, firefighters, police and paramedics face a growing patchwork of different manufacturer-specific procedures, hotlines and access methods for handling incidents involving autonomous vehicles. Tesla's two-door Cybercab, which has no steering wheel and is built for full autonomy, highlights this gap since it lacks conventional controls first responders might expect to use in emergencies.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has partnered with SAE International on a new initiative called ASCEND, aimed at creating standardized, data-driven performance benchmarks for automated driving systems. The effort comes as regulators grapple with vehicles like the Tesla Cybercab and Zoox robotaxi, which lack pedals, steering wheels, and mirrors required under existing federal vehicle safety rules. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the goal is to build a framework that prioritizes safety without forcing the agency into reactive, case-by-case policymaking.
Waymo's in-cabin monitoring system flagged a terms-of-service violation involving a weapon during an early-morning ride in San Francisco's Richmond District, prompting the company to pull the vehicle over and call emergency services. Police conducted a high-risk stop and found a homemade 'ghost gun' styled like an assault rifle, along with suspected marijuana and mace, leading to the arrest of two unnamed minors on firearm possession charges.
A Nevada Transportation Authority permit that had restricted Amazon-owned Zoox to just 100 robotaxis will lapse this month, according to confirmation from an NTA official and a Zoox spokesperson. The move allows Zoox to expand its Las Vegas fleet without the previous regulatory ceiling, though the company has not disclosed how many vehicles it plans to add.
Waymo announced plans to bring its autonomous ride-hailing service to Singapore, with vehicles arriving within months to begin mapping and safety-driver testing in 2027 ahead of a public launch in 2028. The company must first pass safety assessments from Singapore's Land Transport Authority and its CETRAN testing center before carrying passengers, and it has already set up a local entity and joined the city-state's autonomous vehicle steering committee.
Waymo has relaunched paid robotaxi service in San Antonio five months after several of its vehicles got stuck in an April flash flood, with one car swept away by rising water. The company says it updated its software to better detect and avoid standing water, and will now operate dozens of vehicles across a 60-mile zone covering downtown and the airport.
A rider in Austin used Tesla's newly launched Cybercab robotaxi service and documented on X how the vehicle became stuck navigating out of his hotel's parking lot due to a construction closure in one lane. Unable to detect the alternate open lane, the car reportedly shuttled back and forth four times before halting and declaring the trip complete, leaving the passenger back where he started.
Lucid Motors and European ride-hailing platform Bolt announced a partnership under which Bolt aims to deploy at least 25,000 fully autonomous vehicles built on Lucid's upcoming mid-size EV platform. The vehicles would use Nvidia's Hyperion compute and sensing system, though no autonomous driving software provider was named, and no orders or payments have been finalized yet.
Waymo says its robotaxi detected a terms-of-service violation involving a firearm, pulled over, and alerted emergency responders, leading police to arrest two teenagers after allegedly finding a loaded AR-style ghost gun inside the car. The incident adds to a growing list of episodes where Waymo vehicles have supplied footage or triggered law enforcement action, including hit-and-run evidence and protest surveillance concerns.