As Elon Musk temporarily set June 22 as the launch date for Tesla's pilot robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, protesters are expressing their opposition.
Public safety advocates and political protesters expressed dissatisfaction with Musk's cooperation with the Trump administration. They gathered together in downtown Austin on Thursday (Eastern Time) to voice concerns about the launch of the robotaxi service. Members of "The Dawn Project," "Tesla Takedown," and "Resist Austin" stated that Tesla's partially autonomous driving system has safety issues.
In the U.S., Tesla cars come standard with the Autopilot package or offer the Full Self-Driving (FSD) option. According to data tracked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles equipped with these systems (including automatic lane keeping, steering, and parking functions) have been involved in hundreds of collision incidents, including dozens of fatalities.
Tesla's robotaxis are a new version of the popular Model Y, equipped with the upcoming Tesla FSD software. Musk showcased these robotaxis in a video on X earlier this week. That "unsupervised" FSD or robotaxi technology is not yet available to the public.
Critics of Tesla from "The Dawn Project," which describes itself as a technology safety and assurance education company, brought a Model Y equipped with a newer version of the FSD software (version 13.2.9) to demonstrate its functionality to Austin residents.
In Thursday's demonstration, they showed how an enabled FSD Tesla quickly drove past a school bus extending a stop sign and ran over a child-sized mannequin placed in front of the vehicle.
Dan O'Dowd, CEO of "The Dawn Project," who also runs Green Hills Software, a company that sells technology to Tesla's competitors, including Ford and Toyota, participated in the demonstration.
Stephanie Gomez, who attended the demonstration, said she dislikes Musk's role in the government. Additionally, she stated that she lacks confidence in Tesla's safety standards and believes the company lacks transparency regarding how its robotaxis work.
Another protester, Silvia Revelis, said she also opposes Musk's political activities, but safety is her biggest concern.
"Citizens cannot access safety test results," she said. "Musk thinks he is above the law."
Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This article originates from Finance World.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7515655018406511158/
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