Skip to main content

California reviews whether Tesla's self-driving tests require regulatory oversight

But the agency is “revisiting that decision following recent software updates, videos showing a dangerous use of that technology, open investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the opinions of other experts,” the department said in a letter on Friday to Lena Gonzalez, chair of the state Senate Transportation Committee.

The Los Angeles Times first reported the letter.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

The electric car company has been expanding the rollout of what it describes as the “beta” of its advanced driver assistant software, FSD, sparking safety concerns by effectively allowing untrained drivers to test how well the technology works on public roads.

Critics say Tesla was able to avoid state regulatory oversight by telling the Department of Motor Vehicles that its FSD features do not make its cars autonomous.

The department said it has notified Tesla that it “will be initiating further review of the technology of their vehicles, including any expansion of the current programs or features.”

“If the capabilities of the features meet the definition of an autonomous vehicle according to California law and regulations, DMV will take steps to make certain that Tesla operates under the appropriate autonomous vehicle permits,” the agency said in a statement.

Under the regulation, Tesla would need to report crashes and traffic tickets specific to the FSD, said Phil Koopman, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

This would also “trigger a driver background check to ensure (a) good driving record,” he said.

Currently, regulations cover companies like Alphabet Inc and General Motors Co, which are testing autonomous vehicle technology on public roads in California.

The FSD allows vehicles to perform some driving tasks such as lane changes, but Tesla says the features “require a fully attentive driver.” Still, Tesla markets the technology as “full self-driving” and charges up to $10,000 for the software.

The DMV also said its review of Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving” is continuing.

“The DMV shares the concern held by many other safety stakeholders about the potential for driver inattention, misunderstanding, or misuse as these systems become more prevalent,” it said.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco, Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Jonathan Oatis)

Source

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Federal Reserve chair insists crypto report will be released within

The release of the Federal Reserve report touching on digital currency development and crypto regulations has experienced several delays Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee yesterday during his nomination hearing that the much-awaited crypto report is now within weeks of publication despite recent delays. Directing his statement to Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, Powell explained that the report was not yet “ quite where [it] needed to ” be but insisted that it would get released soon nonetheless. “It’s more going to be an exercise in asking questions and seeking input from the public rather than taking a lot of positions on various issues, although we do take some positions. The report really is ready to go, and I would expect we will drop it — I hate to say it again — in coming weeks,” he stated. Powell also explained that a change in monetary policy had been a factor in the report’s delay. Despite the assurances he gave...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bank of America is bullish on DeFi and NFTs

The cryptocurrency market has experienced massive growth over the past few years, and financial players are now bullish about cryptocurrencies The Bank of America has published a new report covering the latest innovations in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. The bank is bullish on the Ethereum network and the latest innovations, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised finance (DeFi). Traditional financial institutions were very critical of Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market during the early years. At the time, the Bank of America described Bitcoin as a slow and impractical financial asset. However, the tone has changed in recent years, with the bank stating that the cryptocurrency market has grown too big to be ignored. Bank of America Global Research’s new Digital Asset Primer called blockchain technology the most exciting new market in years. The financial institution said it is not only bullish on Bitcoin and blockchain technology but also on Eth...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shares in Brazil mall operators soar as Multiplan figures, BofA

By Gabriel Araujo SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Shares in Brazilian shopping mall operators soared on Wednesday as Multiplan reported figures above pre-pandemic levels for the fourth quarter of 2021 and a Bank of America survey pointed to expectations of a solid recovery in the sector. Multiplan said in its operational preview that quarterly same store rent jumped 41.4% from the same period of 2019, while same store sales rose 10.3%. Sales were up 8.1% when compared with the last quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in Brazil, supported by a strong performance during the holiday season. “December was a major highlight, as sales reached 110.1% of the sales seen in the same period of 2019 … In the fourth quarter, sales were above 2019 levels for the first time in the year, totaling 5.6 billion reais ($1.01 billion),” Multiplan said. Multiplan’s figures were backed by a Bank of America survey showing a K-shaped recovery in the sector, with 92% of Brazilian consumers back at th...
Post a Comment
Read more