Waymo’s Autonomous Taxis Remain Strangely Drawn to Floodwater
Waymo has halted its robotaxi service in Atlanta after an unoccupied vehicle drove into floodwater and remained stuck for about an hour. The incident follows a similar suspension in San Antonio and a voluntary recall of roughly 4,000 robotaxis to address a software gap in flood detection. Waymo says a recent over‑the‑air update intended to limit driving in high‑risk flood zones failed to prevent the Atlanta mishap. The company is now working on a more robust perception patch while emphasizing safety as its top priority.
Waymo Recalls Thousands of Robotaxis: Weekly Connected and Autonomous Vehicle News
Waymo is recalling roughly 3,800 robotaxis after a software flaw that could misinterpret water depth and steer vehicles into flooded streets, highlighted by an incident in San Antonio. The recall triggers an over‑the‑air update and temporary fleet withdrawal. At the...
Xpeng Defends Its Pure Vision Strategy, Says LiDAR Is No Longer Necessary for Cars
Xpeng unveiled its GX six‑seat SUV and reaffirmed a pure‑vision autonomous‑driving strategy, discarding LiDAR across its lineup. CEO He Xiaopeng argued that high‑resolution cameras now deliver superior performance, especially in adverse weather, and that LiDAR’s power and safety constraints are...
Tesla Scales Back Driver Monitoring with Latest Full Self-Driving Release
Tesla has released Full Self‑Driving software version 14.3.3, which significantly reduces the driver‑nagging alerts that force occupants to keep their eyes on the road. The update is already praised by owners for being less invasive while adding faster Smart Summon...
Tesla Full Self-Driving Expands in Europe, Entering Its Second Country
Tesla has expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised suite to Lithuania, making it the second European Union country to offer the system after the Netherlands. The rollout follows a mutual‑recognition framework that leverages the Dutch approval, which was earned after...
Robotics Summit & Expo to Feature a Track on Warehouse Automation
The 2026 Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, scheduled for May 27‑28, will debut a dedicated logistics automation track featuring seven expert sessions on scaling autonomous robots, AI‑driven material handling, and lights‑out warehouses. Interact Analysis reports a 7% rise in...
Tesla Is Making Sweeping Improvements to Robotaxi
Tesla unveiled Robotaxi app version 26.4.5, introducing remote operator voice calls, proactive AI‑driven assistance, and manual override plus remote‑start capabilities for steering‑wheel‑less Cybercabs. The update also adds soft‑matching dispatch, multi‑stop routing, cabin‑sync controls, and a high‑security kill‑switch. These features are...
Inside Kodiak’s Autonomous Trucking Operation in the Permian Basin Field Report
Kodiak is running its Driver‑as‑a‑Service platform for Atlas Energy Solutions in the Permian Basin, where Atlas owns the autonomous Class 8 trucks and pays for the service. By the end of Q1 2026 the fleet grew to 28 driverless trucks, logging over...
Tesla CEO Musk Expects Expansion of Self-Driving Cars Without Monitors in 2026
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said fully autonomous vehicles without safety monitors will see a dramatic increase on U.S. roads in the second half of 2026. The rollout follows a six‑month pilot in Austin, Dallas and Houston, and recent testing approval...
What's the Deal with Level 2/2+ Safety?
Level 2 and emerging Level 2+/2++ vehicle automation rely on a human driver to supervise speed and steering functions. Safety hinges on the driver’s ability to intervene promptly, yet manufacturers often market these systems as more capable than they are, fostering driver...
Forget the Waymo/Uber News, Focus on the Nuro and WeRide Partnerships
Waymo announced a 1,400‑square‑mile expansion into 11 U.S. cities ahead of the World Cup, while Uber’s public campaign against Waymo intensifies as their partnership unravels. The discussion on Autonomy Markets shifts focus to Uber’s remaining allies, highlighting Nuro’s new engineering...
Tesla Full Self Driving (Supervised) Now Permitted in Belgium
Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving (Supervised) system received its first permission to operate in Belgium after a similar approval in the Netherlands. For now, a single vehicle will conduct a 5,000‑kilometre trial in Flanders to assess differences in road infrastructure and traffic...
Waymos Perform Ritual Robot Pilgrimage Around Suburban Atlanta Cul-De-Sac
Waymo’s driverless fleet repeatedly looped through a northwest Atlanta cul‑de‑sac, with dozens of empty vehicles circling the dead‑end each morning between 6 am and 7 am. Residents reported seeing as many as 50 robotaxis in a single hour, prompting complaints to local...
Tesla’s Unsupervised Robotaxi Count IS Growing
Tesla’s unsupervised robotaxi fleet has grown to 39 vehicles, with 27 operating in Austin. Dallas and Houston each added a handful of driverless cars, bringing the total unsupervised units to 39 across three Texas cities. NHTSA data shows 30 incidents...
Tesla Gathers 93,000 FSD Miles in a Country Where FSD Isn’t Approved – Here’s How
Tesla has logged roughly 93,000 miles (150,000 km) of Full Self‑Driving (FSD) activity on the private roads of its Giga Berlin plant, moving Model Y vehicles from the end of the assembly line to the outbound lot. The milestone arrives as...