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Waymo could face new legal barriers in its expansion to Los Angeles

Credit: Waymo | YouTube

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Driverless ride-hailing company Waymo is looking to expand its testing to Los Angeles, but a new bill introduced just weeks ago may threaten the company’s ability to operate in the Southern California city if it’s passed.

Waymo announced its plan to expand driverless testing to Los Angeles just a few weeks ago, beyond the company’s current operations in San Francisco and Phoenix, Arizona. However, Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) introduced a bill around the same time that would allow communities to have the most say in whether autonomous vehicles (AVs) can operate locally, potentially throwing a wrench into the Alphabet-owned company’s plans.

Cortese introduced SB 915, the Autonomous Vehicle Service Deployment and Data Transparency Act, which would effectively let local communities determine the regulations and requirements around where and if driverless vehicles can operate, instead of them only being granted or denied by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

“City councils and county boards of supervisors adopt ordinances on any given week, nimbly and with local accountability. SB 915 returns control to the local communities who know their streets best,” Senator Cortese said in a statement. “The emergence of autonomous vehicles is an exciting technological development with massive potential upsides for safety and convenience. We must ensure this innovative technology rolls out safely.”

Below you can see the proposed map of Los Angeles operations from Waymo’s advice letter filed with the CPUC:

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Credit: Waymo

The introduction of the bill comes after significant scrutiny around driverless vehicles has hit many communities, including San Francisco, where Waymo and General Motors-owned Cruise were approved to begin operating 24 hours a day in August. Critics were quick to voice their concerns, and just months after the approval, Cruise’s permit to operate driverless vehicles was revoked after one of its robotaxis dragged and pinned a pedestrian who had been hit by another car with a human driver.

Authorities in San Francisco have also been vocal about wanting more control over regulations surrounding AVs.

“Right now is the time for Cruise, Waymo and Zoox to say, ‘We welcome sensible regulations,’ rather than do what they’ve done the last half-dozen years,” said Aaron Peskin, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President (via Automotive News).

Others have argued that the bill could slow down innovation, as it would require Waymo and other companies to gain approval from over a dozen municipalities before expanding.

“For all de facto purposes, Waymo is becoming the Standard Oil of autonomous driving,” said Grayson Brulte, head of insights firm Road to Autonomy. “If I want to go visit my mom one town over, and that town doesn’t have the ordinance, then I can’t take a Waymo there. What this bill does is harm California’s innovation economy.”

Discussions on SB 915 are expected to begin in the Senate after Friday, though the body likely won’t vote on the legislation until later this year.

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While Waymo’s expansion plans were approved by the California DMV last month, the company is awaiting a response from the CPUC by February 20. The staff can either approve, deny or suspend the application, with the latter option offering the staff up to 120 extra days to review the proposal.

Waymo expanding autonomous driving tests to include freeways

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla rolls out update to Robotaxi service that makes pickups so much better

The update was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/X

Tesla has rolled out a minor update to its Robotaxi service that will likely make the driverless ride-hailing system notably better and more convenient for consumers. The update was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk in a post on social media platform X.

Robotaxi service updates

The Robotaxi update was observed by users of the driverless ride-hailing service over the weekend. As observed by Tesla enthusiast Owen Sparks, the Austin Robotaxi fleet no longer strictly navigates to the pickup point listed on the app. Instead, the Robotaxis now stop in the exact location of a user’s phone.

Elon Musk confirmed the update, noting in a post on X that the change was an upgrade to the service. It’s a reactively minor update in the grand scheme of things, but it should make the Robotaxi service feel more organic and humanlike.

Driverless taxis

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin has been receiving good reviews from users since it was launched, with many praising the vehicles for their cautious and humanlike behavior. Some users on social media even noted that Tesla’s Robotaxis feel safer on the road than cars from services like Uber, which are manually driven.

Tesla’s minor updates to its Robotaxi service are expected to make the customer experience of the driverless ride-hailing service more refined. By doing so, Tesla could ease customers into its service, even if only a fraction of ride-hailing users are familiar with fully autonomous cars. With this in mind, even small updates like picking up customers based on their specific phone location will likely go a long way towards making Tesla’s Robotaxis more accepted by the general public. 

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Tesla sells 3 million Model 3 since 2017, one in every 1.5 minutes

This translates to one Model 3 being sold every 1.5 minutes on average for the past eight years.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has announced that the Model 3 sedan has sold 3 million units since it started customer deliveries in 2017. As per the electric vehicle maker, this translates to one Model 3 being sold every 1.5 minutes on average for the past eight years.

Massive Milestone

Tesla China VP Grace Tao announced the Model 3’s milestone on Weibo, highlighting that the all-electric sedan has been a tried and tested vehicle that has earned accolades throughout its tenure. She also highlighted that in a recent test, Car and Driver gave the Model 3 a perfect score. 

“Model 3 has become the choice of more than 3 million car owners worldwide, and has won the global pure electric sedan sales champion for seven consecutive years,” Tao wrote in her Weibo post. 

She also invited everyone to try and test drive the Model 3 sedan, so they could experience the vehicle personally. “Everyone is welcome to come to the store to test drive and experience this global car and champion car,” the Tesla executive added.

Tesla’s Mainstream Bet

There was once a time when Tesla’s future relied on the Model 3’s success. When the Model 3 was unveiled, Tesla was still gaining its footing as a premium automaker that produces the Model S and Model X. The Model 3 was the company’s first mass-market car, and it was Tesla’s first foray into serious mass production. At the time, it was no exaggeration to state that Tesla’s survival depended on the Model 3.

The Model 3’s runaway success was a victory not just for Tesla but for the overall electric vehicle sector as a whole. Because the Model 3 was simply a great car, electric or otherwise, it was able to prove that there is serious demand for reasonably-priced mass market EVs. It was also able to pave the way for the Model Y, Tesla’s mass market all-electric crossover that ultimately became the world’s best-selling car in 2023 and 2024.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love

Tesla’s Model Q could be on the way soon, and a new note from Deutsche Bank thinks it will contribute to Q4 deliveries.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

The Tesla “Model Q” has been in the rumor mill for the company for several years, but a recent note from Wall Street firm Deutsche Bank seems to indicate that it could be on its way in the near future.

This comes as Tesla has been indicating for several quarters that its development of affordable models was “on track” for the first half of 2025. The company did not say it would unveil the vehicles in the first half, but many are anticipating that more cost-friendly models could be revealed to the public soon.

Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas

The Deutsche Bank note refers to one of the rumored affordable models as the “Model Q,” but we’ve also seen it referred to as the “Model 2,” amongst other names. Tesla has not officially coined any of its upcoming vehicles as such, but these are more of a universally accepted phrase to identify them, at least for now.

The rumors stem from sentiments regarding Tesla’s 2025 delivery projections, which are tempered as the company seeks to maintain a steady pace compared to 2023 and 2024, when it reported 1.8 million deliveries.

Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe the deliveries could be around 1.58 million, but they state this is a cautious stance that could be impacted by several things, including the potential launch of the Model Q, which they believe will make its way to market in Q4:

“Looking at the rest of the year, we maintain a cautious stance on volume calling for 1.58m vehicle deliveries (-12% YoY) vs. consensus +1.62m, with the timing of Model Q rollout as the key swing factor (we now assume only 25k in Q4). In China, Tesla will introduce the Model Y L this fall (6 inch longer wheel base allowing for larger 3-row seating with six seats).”

Interestingly, the same firm also predicted that the Model Q would launch in the first half of the year based on a note that was released in early December 2024.

Those estimations came from a reported meeting that Deutsche Bank had with Tesla late last year, where it said it aimed to launch the Model Q for less than $30,000 and aimed for it to compete with cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.

Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Call is slated for this Wednesday and could reveal some additional details about the affordable models.

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