autonomous cars

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Empty Waymo Robotaxi Can't Escape a Roundabout

It's not the first time self-driving Waymos have gone awry

(Newser) - Last month, the folks at Wired shadowed a Waymo robotaxi for an entire workday to "study its movements, its relationship to life on the streets, its whole self-driving gestalt." It's a good thing they didn't track this recently spotted vehicle, because it would've been a...

Tesla's Latest: 'Fall Asleep and Wake Up at Your Destination'

So says Elon Musk as 'robotaxi' is unveiled in Hollywood

(Newser) - It doesn't have a steering wheel or pedals, but Elon Musk has "staked Tesla's future" on his company's new Cybercab, unveiled Thursday evening at a Warner Bros. studio in Hollywood. The company's CEO vowed that the self-driving two-seater "robotaxi," which the New York ...

With 3 Dead, US Investigates Ford's Partially Automated Cars

Blue Cruise systems were involved in 2 separate crashes, and NHTSA is looking into it

(Newser) - Two fatal crashes involving Ford's Blue Cruise partially automated driving system are now subjects of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation of the crashes, both involving Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles on freeways in nighttime lighting conditions, the agency said Monday. The agency's initial investigation of the crashes,...

Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over Fatal Autopilot Crash

Walter Huang's Tesla veered into a concrete highway barrier in 2018

(Newser) - Tesla has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a Silicon Valley engineer who died in a crash while relying on the company's semi-autonomous driving software, the AP reports. The amount Tesla paid to settle the case was not disclosed in court documents filed Monday, just a day...

Amid Safety Issues With Self-Driving Cars, CEO of Cruise Resigns

Kyle Vogt steps down after DMV revokes license, GM recalls vehicles

(Newser) - Kyle Vogt has resigned as CEO of Cruise, General Motors' autonomous vehicle unit, as questions build about the safety of self-driving cars, the AP reports. Vogt's decision to step down, announced late Sunday, follows a recent recall of all 950 Cruise vehicles to update software after one of them...

California Suspends Cruise's Driverless Taxis

Robotaxis have become increasingly controversial in the state

(Newser) - After a series of incidents involving Cruise robotaxis, California has decided to halt their operation in the state effective immediately. Cruise is one of two companies (the other is Waymo, owned by Google's parent company) with driverless taxi fleets in California; the suspension order issued by the state's...

GM's Cruise Division Under Scrutiny in Pedestrian Injuries

NHTSA launches inquiry after pair of reports

(Newser) - Tesla isn't the only automaker getting bad press over its self-driving vehicles. US regulators are investigating General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle division after receiving reports of incidents where vehicles may not have used proper caution around pedestrians in roadways, per the AP . The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says...

SF Officials Say Robotaxis Contributed to Person's Death

Protests followed San Francisco Fire Department's report

(Newser) - Protesters gathered at the San Francisco headquarters of robotaxi company Cruise Monday after claims came out that two of the company's self-driving vehicles contributed to a person's death last month. The San Francisco Fire Department released a report last week regarding the August 14 incident, in which an...

Mystery of Fatal Tesla Crash With No Driver Is Solved

NTSB report finds that Autopilot was not in use after all in 2021 crash

(Newser) - Authorities say they know why no one was in the driver's seat when a Tesla Model S crashed in 2021, killing the two men inside, and it's not the reason initially believed. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the driver moved into the back seat...

This City's Self-Driving Cars Are Causing Oodles of 911 Calls

San Francisco logged nearly 100 emergency calls about autonomous cars in second half of 2022

(Newser) - Traffic in San Francisco was, well, weird during the last half of 2022, and fingers are being pointed at the city's autonomous vehicles. Per a Wednesday letter from the San Francisco County Transportation Authority to the California Public Utilities Commission, there were a whole lot of 911 calls (92,...

Tesla Issues Recall Over 'Rolling Stops'

54K cars, SUVs recalled due to Full Self-Driving feature that critics say is unsafe

(Newser) - Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 cars and SUVs because its "Full Self-Driving" software lets them roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt. Documents posted Tuesday by US safety regulators say Tesla will disable the feature with an over-the-internet software update, per the AP . The "...

Tesla Self-Driving Feature Puts Car in 'Assertive' Mode

It allows vehicle to shorten follow distance, come to 'rolling stops'

(Newser) - A Tesla self-driving feature is drawing backlash for what some are saying could lead to too-aggressive driving. The Verge reports that the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta allows vehicle operators to choose from one of three driving modes that control how the car reacts to road conditions: "Chill,...

A Truck Just Drove 80 Miles With No Human on Board

Autonomous trucker TuSimple logs first no-human road test in Arizona

(Newser) - A semitruck completed an 80-mile route in Arizona with no human on board and no human intervention during the trip using technology developed by TuSimple, the company said Wednesday. The San Diego company says it's the first successful fully-autonomous run by a Class 8 vehicle, or semi, on open...

Report: Apple Is Working on Fully Self-Driving Car

Sources say company plans to launch by 2025

(Newser) - Apple's secretive "Project Titan" car team has shifted gears, insiders say. Sources tell Bloomberg that the team is now concentrating on creating a fully self-driving vehicle and aims to launch it by 2025. Bloomberg's sources say the company recently reached a "key milestone in developing the...

Cop to Driver: 'I Followed You for About 2 Miles and You Were Sleeping'

Wisconsin authorities say man was behind the wheel of a Tesla using its Autopilot feature

(Newser) - According to the Tesla website , the Autopilot feature built in to all of its new vehicles offers "advanced safety and convenience features ... designed to assist you with the most burdensome parts of driving." For an Illinois man who took a spin in Wisconsin over the weekend, one of...

Startup Reveals Self-Driving Taxi With No Steering Wheel
Is This the Car of the Future?
Dec 15, 2020 6:57 AM CST

Is This the Car of the Future?

Bezos-owned Zoox reveals self-driving taxi with no steering wheel

(Newser) - Taxi service could someday look quite different: Zoox, a self-driving startup acquired by Jeff Bezos' Amazon in June, on Monday revealed its autonomous taxi prototype. The robotaxi, which does away with the steering wheel, pedals, and driver's seat entirely, "reimagines the entire premise of a car," per...

The Car Was Going 93mph. The Driver Was Taking a Nap

Canadian officers say they found both front seats reclined, car apparently on Autopilot

(Newser) - Police in Canada say a man has been charged over a July incident in which he was allegedly snoozing away as his apparently self-driving car traveled more than 93mph. Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were alerted around 4pm on July 9 to a Tesla Model S speeding down the highway...

Cops: Man Smashes Into Patrol Cars While Catching a Flick

North Carolina doctor had his Tesla in 'Autopilot' mode, police say

(Newser) - Bad luck: to crash into other vehicles while driving. Worse luck: to crash into other vehicles that happen to be police cars. Worst luck of all: to do all of the above while you're watching a movie. Officials in North Carolina say that was the fate of a Raleigh...

Ex-Google Exec Gets Prison for Stealing Robocar Secrets

Anthony Levandowski also ordered to pay more than $850K

(Newser) - A former Google engineer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing trade secrets before joining Uber's effort to build robotic vehicles for its ride-hailing service. The sentence handed down Tuesday by US District Judge William Alsup came more than four months after former...

Feds Investigating Fatal Tesla Crash
Tesla Crash Kills 2
Jan 1, 2020 6:00 AM CST

Tesla Crash Kills 2

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating

(Newser) - A Tesla crash killed two people in the wee hours of Sunday in a Los Angeles suburb, and now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating. The Tesla Model S was speeding, ran a red light, and hit a Honda Civic at the Gardena intersection, killing a man and...

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