As Musk’s ‘robotaxi’ rollout approaches, Democratic lawmakers in Texas try to throw up a roadblock

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. Photo by Susan Walsh /AP

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NEW YORK (AP) — A group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas is asking Elon Musk to delay the planned rollout of driverless ‘robotaxis’ in the state this weekend to assure that the vehicles are safe.

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In a letter, seven state legislators asked Tesla to wait until September when a new law takes effect that will require several checks before autonomous vehicles can be deployed without a human in the driver’s seat. Tesla is slated to begin testing a dozen of what it calls robotaxis for paying customers on Sunday in a limited area of Austin, Texas.

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“We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025,” the letter from Wednesday, June 18, reads. “We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations.”

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It’s not clear if the letter will have much impact. Republicans have been a dominant majority in the Texas Legislature for more than 20 years. State lawmakers and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have generally embraced Musk and the jobs and investment he has brought to Texas, from his SpaceX rocket program on the coast, to his Tesla factory in Austin.

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The company, which is headquartered in Austin, did not responded immediately to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

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The law will require companies to secure approval from the state motor vehicles department to operate autonomous cars with passengers. That approval, in turn, would depend on sufficient proof that the cars won’t pose a high risk to others if the self-driving system breaks down, among other reassurances. Companies would also have to file detailed plans for how first responders should handle the cars if there is a problem, such as an accident.

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The letter asked Tesla to assure the legislators it has met all the requirements of the law even if it decides to go ahead with the test run this weekend.

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The letter was earlier reported by Reuters.

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Musk has made the robotaxi program a priority at Tesla and a failure would likely be highly damaging to the company’s stock, which has already tumbled 20% this year.

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Musk’s political views and his affiliation with the Trump administration have drastically reduced sales of Tesla, particularly in Europe, where Musk’s endorsement of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party in February’s election drew broad condemnation.

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Tesla shares bottomed out in March and have rebounded somewhat in recent months. Much of the rise reflects optimism that robotaxis will not only be deployed without a hitch, but that the service will quickly expand to other cities and eventually dominate the self-driving cab business. Rival Waymo is already picking up passengers in Austin and several other cities, and recently boasted of surpassing 10 million paid rides.

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In afternoon trading Friday, Tesla shares were largely unchanged at $320.

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AP reporter Jim Vertuno contributed from Austin.

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