The NTSB is probing Waymo for illegally passing school buses while Tesla ends Autopilot to focus on new driving tech.
Speaking of Tesla, the company is making big changes. They offered robotaxi rides in Austin without a human driver up front. Last year, Tesla ran a service there with a human in the front seat. Now, it seems that they are pushing to offer more rides without a driver. But there is still a chase car behind those vehicles.
Tesla has also decided to end its Autopilot program. Originally, Autopilot was introduced to help drivers, but it didn’t perform as the name suggested. Drivers had to keep their hands on the wheel while using it. The basic version is now gone, and Tesla hopes to make more money from its Full Self-Driving software instead.
Tesla also announced a new payment plan for the FSD software. They will stop charging $8,000 for it and will now offer it as a monthly subscription. This could help in making more money in the long run.
At the same time, Tesla is facing some trouble. They might have their licenses suspended in California because a judge said they misled people about Autopilot. By dropping the Autopilot name, Tesla hopes to improve its relationship with the DMV.
In other news, Zipline, a drone delivery company, got $600 million in funding. This will help them expand their delivery service to more cities like Houston and Phoenix.
Lastly, Waymo has opened its robotaxi service in Miami. They are accepting riders from a waitlist of almost 10,000 people. Exciting times ahead for robotaxi services!