Tesla Robotaxis Under Fire as Federal Investigation Uncovers Safety Fears
As Tesla prepared to make a major leap with its paid autonomous ride service, a federal warning landed with force. On May 12, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent Tesla an official demand for comprehensive disclosures about the upcoming Tesla Robotaxis set to launch in Austin, Texas.
Tesla Robotaxis now face intense regulatory scrutiny
What was meant to mark a transformative chapter for Tesla turned into a moment of reckoning. A detailed letter spanning more than 15 pages from the NHTSA raised a host of safety concerns, dampening the excitement around Tesla Robotaxis and igniting uncertainty among investors. The central issue: Is Tesla ready to place fully driverless vehicles on public roads?
The agency's request was anything but light. It imposed a June 19 deadline for Tesla to respond and warned of daily fines reaching $27,874 per violation. Among the 58 questions, regulators demanded specifics about the autonomous fleet's size, the types of cameras and sensors used, remote operation systems, and backup protocols for poor weather—conditions that have already proven problematic for Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised (FSD Supervised) technology.
NHTSA also asked how the current FSD Supervised system—still requiring driver oversight—relates to the upcoming Tesla Robotaxis, which promise full autonomy without human input. The agency wants details on safety architecture, computing hardware, and compliance with global safety standards like ISO 26262 and UL 4600. Essentially, regulators are demanding a full roadmap before Tesla's driverless cars hit the streets through a customer-facing app.
This level of scrutiny isn't sudden. It builds on an investigation (PE24031) launched in October 2024 into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles after several crashes in low-visibility conditions, including a fatal pedestrian accident in Arizona in 2023. Tesla was later compelled to recall over two million vehicles in December 2023 to add software controls aimed at reducing Autopilot misuse. However, NHTSA is still evaluating whether those updates go far enough.
The current probe deepens that inquiry—now zeroing in on whether Tesla Robotaxis are being promoted with capabilities that exceed what the system can safely deliver.
Yet despite the growing regulatory wall, Elon Musk has remained defiant. On April 23, he announced the successful conclusion of an internal ride-hailing test for Tesla employees in Austin and San Francisco, reporting over 1,500 trips. Musk continues to tout his vision of a global fleet of Tesla Robotaxis, capable of turning every car into a money-making asset. But now, that vision is under threat.
Analysts warn that the consequences could be severe. Beyond fines, Tesla could face a full-blown engineering investigation or even another recall—both of which would disrupt the company's projected $50 billion in annual revenue from Tesla Robotaxis by 2030. All of this adds pressure to an already difficult year, with slow sales and repeated delays to Tesla's long-awaited affordable EV. That entry-level model, seen as a vital piece of Tesla's growth strategy, has once again been paused—leaving more room for competitors like China's BYD to seize market share.
Now the countdown begins. Tesla has just five weeks to persuade regulators that Tesla Robotaxis are safe enough to handle complex real-world conditions without human drivers. Failing that, Tesla could be forced to delay—or even reconsider—its entire autonomous ride-hailing strategy.
While some view the federal pushback as a setback for innovation, others see it as an essential pause—one that ensures autonomous vehicles don't outpace safety standards. Whether Elon Musk manages to turn the challenge into triumph or hits the brakes on the Tesla Robotaxis rollout remains uncertain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
25 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Why is Saudi Arabia playing against USA in the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
This month, overshadowed somewhat by the FIFA Club World Cup happening simultaneously, the best national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean are battling it out in the biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 2025 edition also includes a more unfamiliar international side: Saudi Arabia is competing alongside the likes of the United States, Mexico, Canada, Haiti and Panama for the continental prize. Here, Al Arabiya English explains why Saudi Arabia is playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. What is the CONCACAF Gold Cup? The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the leading international football competition for teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Organized by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the tournament determines the regional champion and plays a similar role to Asia's AFC Asian Cup, Europe's UEFA European Championship, South America's Copa America, or Africa's AFCON. Held every two years, the Gold Cup typically features 16 teams. The group stage progresses to knockout rounds, culminating in a final that crowns the continental champion. Mexico and the USA have had a near-exclusive duopoly on the competition since its inception in 1991, winning nine and seven titles respectively. The only other champion is Canada, which won in 2000 and is favorite to triumph in the current edition of the tournament having emerged as the region's strongest team in recent years. As well as being a prestigious continental competition, the Gold Cup is also a platform for national teams to test themselves in the high-pressure environment of tournament football as they plot a path towards the FIFA World Cup. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to take place across Mexico, Canada and the United States, the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup – also hosted in the USA and Canada – doubles up as a useful test event for next year's global showpiece. Why is Saudi Arabia playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup? Put simply, Saudi Arabia is competing because it was invited. In late 2024, CONCACAF signed a strategic agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), aimed at enhancing cooperation. One element of this was the extension of a formal invitation by CONCACAF to Saudi Arabia to participate as a guest nation in both the 2025 and 2027 editions of the Gold Cup – the latter of which will again be held in the United States. For CONCACAF, the Green Falcons' involvement brings a fresh competitive edge and increased international attention to the tournament. For Saudi Arabia, it offers the chance for coach Herve Renard and his players to test themselves against unfamiliar opponents as they build toward hopefully qualifying for – and playing in – the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia's next World Cup qualifiers will take place in October, meaning these summer matches – at least three of them in the Gold Cup group stage, and three more if the Green Falcons make it to the final – provide valuable opportunities for players to have competitive game time. Has a non-CONCACAF team ever competed before? Yes, though this is the first time that Saudi Arabia has participated in this – or any other – continental tournament outside of Asia. While Europe, Asia and Africa have never opened up their continental competitions to external entrants, both CONCACAF and CONMEBOL (South American football's governing body) have done so with some regularity over the past couple of decades. Qatar was the most recent non-CONCACAF nation to compete in the Gold Cup, reaching the semi-final in 2021 and quarter-final in 2023. Brazil has also competed twice – finishing as runner-up to Mexico in 1996 and in third place in 1998. Other South American competitors have included Colombia – a losing finalist to Canada in 2000, Peru (2000) and Ecuador (2002). South Korea became the first upcoming World Cup host to take part – doing so in 2000 and 2002 – before South Africa participated in 2005 and Qatar played in the last two editions; as 2034 FIFA World Cup host, Saudi Arabia follows in their footsteps. Beyond the Gold Cup, South America's Copa America has also welcomed national teams from other continents. Mexico has been the most regular invitee, featuring in 11 tournaments and twice losing the final, while Costa Rica (6), USA (5), Jamaica (3), Panama (2) and Japan (2) have all made multiple appearances. Haiti, Honduras, Qatar and Canada have all featured once in the Copa America. Could Saudi Arabia win the Gold Cup? Absolutely. And if it does, Saudi Arabia would make history as the first non-CONCACAF nation to triumph at the Gold Cup. Australia is currently the only nation to win a major continental title outside of its own continent, having claimed the AFC Asian Cup trophy in 2015 on home soil after switching from competing in Oceania's OFC Nations Cup. Should Renard's team go all the way and win the Gold Cup final on July 6 in Houston, Saudi Arabia – already a four-time continental champion in Asia – could emulate that achievement. The Green Falcons won their opening match 1-0 against Haiti, courtesy of a first-half penalty from Al Ittihad striker Saleh al-Shehri. Further matches against the United States (June 19) and Trinidad and Tobago (June 22) in Group D will determine whether Saudi Arabia reaches the quarterfinals. Renard's Gold Cup squad combines experienced players from top Saudi Pro League clubs with a handful of rising talents, but the French coach has been negatively impacted by the participation of Al Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup. Al Hilal's Saudi players were not prevented from competing in the tournament, which is happening concurrently – also in the United States. Green Falcons captain Salem al-Dawsari, defender Hassan al-Tambakti and midfielder Nasser al-Dawsari started Al Hilal's impressive 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Wednesday, while team-mates Mohamed Kanno, Ali Lajami and Abdullah al-Hamdan would all likely have been picked to play for Saudi Arabia at the Gold Cup had they been available. Still, Renard has plenty of quality players to choose from and while winning the tournament may be a tall order, a deep run into the knockout stages feels like a realistic target for the Green Falcons.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Extends Deadline for TikTok Sale by 90 Days
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he had given social media platform TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. "I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for the third time. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's January inauguration. The Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video-sharing app. "I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension." TikTok on Thursday welcomed Trump's decision. "We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users," the platform said in a statement. Digital Cold War? Motivated by a belief in Washington that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government, the ban took effect on January 19, one day before Trump's inauguration, with ByteDance having made no attempt to find a suitor. TikTok "has become a symbol of the US-China tech rivalry; a flashpoint in the new Cold War for digital control," said Shweta Singh, an assistant professor of information systems at Warwick Business School in Britain. Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, but reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform -- which boasts almost two billion global users -- after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election. The president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office. A second extension pushed the deadline to June 19. He said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance "a lot of money" for the video-clip-sharing sensation's US operations. Trump knows that TikTok is "wildly popular" in the United States, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday, when asked about the latest extension. "He also wants to protect Americans' data and privacy concerns on this app, and he believes we can do both things at the same time." The president is "just not motivated to do anything about TikTok," said independent analyst Rob Enderle. "Unless they get on his bad side, TikTok is probably going to be in pretty good shape." Tariff turmoil Trump said in April that China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over his tariffs on Beijing. ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law." Possible solutions reportedly include seeing existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company. Additional US investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, would be brought on to reduce ByteDance's share in the new TikTok. Much of TikTok's US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company's chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally. Uncertainty remains, particularly over what would happen to TikTok's valuable algorithm. "TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand -- it's simply not as powerful," said Kelsey Chickering, principal analyst at Forrester. Despite the turmoil, TikTok has been continuing with business as usual. The platform on Monday introduced a new "Symphony" suite of generative artificial intelligence tools for advertisers to turn words or photos into video snippets for the platform.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Oil Updates — Brent futures down nearly $2 after US delays decision on direct Iran involvement
SINGAPORE: Brent crude prices pared gains from the previous session and fell nearly $2 on Friday after the White House delayed a decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, but they were still poised for a third straight week in the black. Brent crude futures fell $1.89, or 2.4 percent, to $76.96 a barrel by 5:55 a.m. Saudi time. On a weekly basis, it was up 3.8 percent. The US West Texas Intermediate crude for July — which did not settle on Thursday as it was a US holiday and expires on Friday — was up 53 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $75.67. The more liquid WTI for August rose 0.2 percent, or 17 cents to $73.67. Prices jumped almost 3 percent on Thursday as Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. The week-old war between Israel and Iran showed no signs of either side backing down. Brent futures trimmed previous session gains following the White House's comments that President Donald Trump will decide whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks. 'Oil prices surged amid fears of increased US involvement in Israel's conflict with Iran. However, the White House press secretary later suggested there was still time for de-escalation,' said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group. Iran is the third-largest producer among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, extracting about 3.3 million barrels per day of crude oil. About 18 million to 21 million bpd of oil and oil products move through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran's southern coast, and there is widespread concern the fighting could disrupt trade flows in a blow to supplies. 'The 'two-week deadline' is a tactic Trump has used in other key decisions. Often these deadlines expire without concrete action, ... which would see the crude oil price remain elevated and potentially build on recent gains,' said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.
