By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. highway safety regulators are reviewing answers Tesla gave in response to the agency’s questions about the safety of its self-driving robotaxi in poor weather, the agency said on Friday, ahead of plans to deploy the vehicles as soon as this weekend.
Tesla has sent invitations to a small group of people to join in a limited test of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which is tentatively set to start on Sunday, according to posts and email screenshots on social media.
In a letter last month, NHTSA asked Tesla to answer detailed questions by June 19 on its plans to launch paid robotaxi service in Austin, to assess how the electric vehicle maker’s cars with full self-driving technology will perform in poor weather.
The agency said it has received Tesla’s response “and is in the process of reviewing it. Once our review has been completed the public file will be updated.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The invitations said a Tesla employee will accompany riders in the front passenger seat, the posts showed. NHTSA asked Tesla if vehicles “will be supervised or otherwise monitored by Tesla in real time.”
NHTSA has been investigating Tesla full self-driving collisions in reduced roadway visibility conditions since October. The probe covers 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with full self-driving technology after four reported collisions, including a 2023 fatal crash.
The agency said in May it was seeking additional information about Tesla’s development of robotaxis “to assess the ability of Tesla’s system to react appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions” as well details on robotaxi deployment plans and the technology being used.
NHTSA said in May it wants to know how many vehicles will be used as robotaxis and the expected timetable for availability of robotaxi technology for vehicles controlled by people other than Tesla.
NHTSA’s letter asked Tesla to describe how it intends to ensure the safety of robotaxi operations in reduced roadway visibility conditions such as sun glare, fog, airborne dust, rain, or snow. It also wants to know what happens if poor visibility is encountered during a ride.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will focus on safety in the trial, with humans remotely monitoring the vehicles.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)
