Tesla Inc. is being put under a magnifying glass by the federal auto regulators. As of now, the department has ramped up their probe into the firm’s new self-driving mode. The investigation comes after a number of high profile crashes with Tesla vehicles while in Full Self-Driving (Supervised) mode. CEO Elon Musk isn’t letting that stop him from moving full steam ahead with big plans. He’s preparing to launch a new model that literally won’t have a steering wheel or pedals.
Changing the name of Tesla’s self-driving technology to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is an effort to cast a spotlight on those high-tech features. This newest version has come under scrutiny as federal investigators probe the details behind a number of crashes. Tesla, in response to regulatory inquiries, has acknowledged that at least three of the crashes currently under investigation were preventable. They’re under the impression that recent over-the-air updates for their Full Self-Driving software would have avoided these crashes.
In a bold move, Musk is preparing to launch production of the Cybercab, a vehicle designed specifically without traditional driving controls. Despite challenges, this pioneering model is poised to succeed. It’ll be used as a taxi for passengers, leveraging Tesla’s goal of making all the cars that are already on the road into rental tools. Musk is convinced this plan will give Tesla owners the keys to the kingdom. Owners can make money by renting out their cars when they aren’t using them.
Musk has announced plans to introduce a robotaxi service later this year in several U.S. cities, where vehicles will operate entirely autonomously, without a human driver present. This ambitious vision is not all that different from Tesla’s long-running goal of transforming transportation through the development of new technology.
Tesla employs a similar camera-based approach to its self-driving features. This difference distinguishes them from all the other competitors that use active light radar or lidar for increased sensing capabilities. Yet Musk has consistently downplayed these other approaches as cumbersome and unnecessary, arguing for the superiority of camera systems by themselves.
Regulators are watching Tesla like hawks. This increased scrutiny poses major obstacles as the company works to scale its self-driving capabilities and roll out its new products. The company’s future operations could be drastically affected, given the scope of the federal investigation. Perhaps most dishearteningly, it could undermine its reputation as an honest broker within the automotive industry.
