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:
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were quick to voice their concerns, and just months after the approval, Cruise’s permit to operate driverless vehicles was revoked after one of its robotaxis dragged and pinned a pedestrian who had been hit by another car with a human driver.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.
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.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear just a day after it announced its strongest quarter in terms of vehicle deliveries and energy deployments.
JPMorgan raised its price target on Tesla shares from $115 to $150. It maintained its ‘Underweight’ rating on the stock.
Despite Tesla reporting 497,099 deliveries, about 12 percent above the 443,000 anticipated from the consensus, JPMorgan is still skeptical that the company can keep up its momentum, stating most of its Q3 strength came from leaning on the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which expired on September 30.
Tesla hits record vehicle deliveries and energy deployments in Q3 2025
The firm said Tesla benefited from a “temporary stronger-than-expected industry-wide pull-forward” as the tax credit expired. It is no secret that consumers flocked to the company this past quarter to take advantage of the credit.
The bump will need to be solidified as the start of a continuing trend of strong vehicle deliveries, the firm said in a note to investors. Analysts said that one quarter of strength was “too soon to declare Tesla as having sustainably returned to growth in its core business.”
JPMorgan does not anticipate Tesla having strong showings with vehicle deliveries after Q4.
There are two distinct things that stick out with this note: the first is the lack of recognition of other parts of Tesla’s business, and the confusion that surrounds future quarters.
JPMorgan did not identify Tesla’s strength in autonomy, energy storage, or robotics, with autonomy and robotics being the main focuses of the company’s future. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi efforts are incredibly relevant and drive more impact moving forward than vehicle deliveries.
Additionally, the confusion surrounding future delivery numbers in quarters past Q3 is evident.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Tesla will receive some assistance from deliveries of vehicles that will reach customers in Q4, but will still qualify for the credit under the IRS’s revised rules. It will also likely introduce an affordable model this quarter, which should have a drastic impact on deliveries depending on pricing.
Tesla shares are trading at $422.40 at 2:35 p.m. on the East Coast.
Coding within Tesla’s website appears to have potentially revealed some details of the affordable model it plans to launch, including its possible price.
Although these details are unconfirmed by the company, recent sightings of the vehicle have sparked significant speculation as to what it will offer.
Tesla said a few months back that it had already successfully built the first few test units of the affordable model. CEO Elon Musk revealed later that it would essentially be a stripped-down version of the Model Y with a handful of changes.
We had our first look at what those changes appear to be, as what is likely the new affordable model was spotted on roads near Gigafactory Texas yesterday. It is a Model Y body with some Model 3 features.
It lacks the light bar that the new Model Y has and instead equips headlights similar to those of the Model 3 “Highland.”
Affordable Tesla Model Y spotted without camouflage near Giga Texas
Other design changes appear to include no glass roof and new wheels. Some rumors have also indicated that Tesla plans to use a cheaper, textile interior, devoid of the flashy features that its other cars are equipped with, including no rear screen, no HEPA system, and manually adjustable second-row air vents.
However, coding within the Tesla website seemed to reveal some pretty significant details about the new affordable model, including its name, which differs from the E41 codename it was given, its price, and a complete list of features.
This was found by Tesla Newswire on X. Here’s what the coding showed for the car. Note that this was found in coding, and is not necessarily confirmation from Tesla regarding what it plans to offer:
- Name – Model Y Standard
- Price $39,990
- Redesigned front fascia
- Single-part headlights
- Front bumper camera
- No glass roof, noted as a “closed glass roof”
- 18″ Aperture wheels
- Manually adjustable steering wheel
- Textile décor
- 15.4″ front touchscreen
- No second-row touchscreen
- Manually adjustable air vents in the second row
- No HEPA system
- 75 cu. fu. cargo space
Here’s what the coding looked like:
Extract 2:
“interior_features”:{“basic”:[{“type”:”title”,”content”:”Interior”},{“type”:”basic[0]”,”content”:”Closed glass roof”},{“type”:”basic[2]”,”content”:”Second-row manual-adjust air vents”},{“type”:”basic[3]”,”content”:”Manual-adjust steering…
— The Tesla Newswire (@TeslaNewswire) October 1, 2025
Many believe these could be the specs and details of the new affordable model, but others think Tesla might be baiting the community. Tesla knows its fans well, and many of them are sharp enough to examine some of the core portions of its website, looking for clues.
The company is well aware that these breadcrumbs will be discovered, and could be putting anything to drive up interest and chatter about what it could release. It certainly seems as if the price tag is a tad high, which tends to push some skepticism about the coding.
However, we’ll take anything we can get at this point. It is important to note that this coding is not a confirmation of details from Tesla.
News
Affordable Tesla Model Y spotted without camouflage near Giga Texas
The vehicle had clean lines and it looked sleek, though it was also notably simpler than the standard Model Y.
The tea leaves seem to be pointing towards the imminent release of the highly anticipated affordable Tesla Model Y. This was hinted at in recent observations from notable Tesla influencers on social media, as well as a sighting of the vehicle without any camouflage.
The affordable Tesla uncovered
Sightings of the affordable Model Y have been abounding as of late, though details of the vehicle were still hidden by coverings on the vehicle. In a recent post on X from Firefly engineer Ryan Mable, however, noted Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt has reportedly “spotted an uncovered cheaper Model Y variant” driving near Giga Texas.
Several images of the uncovered vehicle were shared online. Based on the photos that were shared by Mable, the affordable Model Y seemed to feature a fascia that’s inspired by the Model 3 sedan. Its roof also looked blacked out. Overall, the vehicle had clean lines and it looked sleek, though it was also notably simpler than the standard Model Y.
Tesla influencer mystery
Interestingly enough, several Tesla influencers apart from Merritt posted that they were in Giga Texas. These included drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, teardown specialist Sandy Munro, and reviewers Kyle Conner and Kim Java. These influencers have not provided any context behind their Giga Texas trip, though the fact that they were gathered on the site brought speculations that Tesla might have invited the group for a teaser or a private unveiling event of sorts.
It remains to be seen when the affordable Model Y would be made available, though conversations now are centered on the vehicle’s potential price. Previous reports suggested that the car might be priced just below $40,000, which many believe would result in very low sales, though some have also speculated that the affordable Model Y could be priced below $35,000, which would likely make it a strong seller.
Tesla just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear
Tesla coding shows affordable model details, including potential price
Affordable Tesla Model Y spotted without camouflage near Giga Texas
-
Elon Musk1 week agoTesla FSD V14 set for early wide release next week: Elon Musk
-
News6 days agoElon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress
-
News1 week agoTesla has a new first with its Supercharger network
-
News1 week agoTesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry
-
News2 weeks agoTesla makes a big change to reflect new IRS EV tax credit rules
-
Investor's Corner1 week agoTesla gets new Street-high price target with high hopes for autonomy domination
-
Lifestyle6 days ago500-mile test proves why Tesla Model Y still humiliates rivals in Europe
-
News4 days agoTesla Giga Berlin’s water consumption has achieved the unthinkable