Tesla Inc. has begun the first public road tests of its electric autonomous taxi, the Cybercab. A number of these cars are driving around Austin, Texas, USA right now.
The automaker claims that the hardware on board allows the EVs to be categorized under SAE Level 4. It means that the vehicle is capable of complex situation assessment in real time and can find its way through most road situations, including emergencies and unexpected obstacles. It has yet to receive a formal certificate confirming these capabilities, though.
In the meantime, every car is attended by an operator sitting inside and looking at a large “safety monitor” in the middle of the dash. With no steering wheel or pedals provided, it’s unclear how the operator is supposed to intervene in case of an emergency.
Moving forward, Tesla plans to build its very own taxi fleet from the Cybercabs, as well as sell more units to third-party taxi services and private clients. The certification data published so far indicates that the EV uses a single electric motor rated at 222 PS (219 hp / 163 kW) and a 48-kWh battery pack.