Uber’s robotaxi lobbying effort puts it on a collision course with Waymo

Washington, D.C. has become a battleground for Uber and Waymo’s competing views.

TechCrunch Mobility: A robotaxi ultimatum

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.

New bill would ban Tesla’s camera-only Robotaxi, not Waymo
New bill would ban Tesla’s camera-only Robotaxi, not Waymo

New Jersey lawmakers are advancing a bill that would require driverless commercial vehicles to carry cameras plus two additional sensor types — a mandate Tesla’s camera-only Robotaxi can’t meet.
The proposed law, S1677, would effectively lock Tesla out…

Self-driving cars keep getting in the way of first responders, and Uncle Sam just ran out of patience

NHTSA’s chief says driverless cars keep blocking ambulances and fire trucks, and he’s giving companies a deadline to fix it.

Feds demand autonomous vehicle companies stop interfering with first responders

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said emergency scenes are not “edge cases.”

Waymo goes driverless in Las Vegas, with Denver, San Diego, Tampa next
Waymo goes driverless in Las Vegas, with Denver, San Diego, Tampa next

Waymo has activated fully driverless operations in Las Vegas, its riders will now see vehicles with no human at the wheel, and the Alphabet unit says Denver, San Diego, and Tampa are next in line.
The move adds four new markets to Waymo’s driverless fo…

The robotaxi law that could ban Tesla
The robotaxi law that could ban Tesla

For more than a decade, one question has loomed over the race to build autonomous vehicles: Are cameras alone enough to safely replace human drivers, or do truly driverless cars need additional, overlapping sensors like lidar and radar to navigate the world reliably? Tesla has bet billions of dollars that artificial intelligence and cameras are […]

Tesla begins ‘engineering tests’ of first production Cybercab in Austin
Tesla begins ‘engineering tests’ of first production Cybercab in Austin

Tesla says it has started engineering tests of its first production Cybercab on public roads in Austin, marking the first time a customer-spec unit of the purpose-built robotaxi has been validated outside the factory.
But a video shared by the company …

Waymo and Uber quietly part ways in Phoenix

The companies confirmed to TechCrunch that their unusual partnership in Phoenix recently ended after nearly three years..

TechCrunch Mobility: All eyes on Tesla FSD

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.