Tesla in talks with Austin about autonomous vehicle deployment

Investing.com -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) Inc. is in the early stages of discussions with the city of Austin, Texas, regarding the potential deployment of its autonomous vehicle technology on Texas roads. The discussions are part of Tesla's plans to possibly introduce its self-driving technology in the state as early as next year.

Public records reveal that a Tesla employee has been in communication with Austin’s autonomous vehicle task force since at least May of this year. The discussions aim to establish safety expectations for the vehicles as Tesla considers whether Austin will be the first city in Texas to see the deployment of its driverless fleets.

In an email from November, the Tesla employee indicated that the company is still determining which city within Texas will be the first to experience the deployment. The email states, "The city of Austin is obviously on our roadmap, but has not yet been decided where we will deploy first as we have many options available.”

In October, Tesla unveiled a prototype of its highly anticipated driverless, pedal-less vehicle, known as the Cybercab, at its Hollywood robotaxi event. CEO Elon Musk also mentioned plans to offer an “unsupervised version” of its driver-assistance technology in California and Texas next year. However, the event resulted in many investors seeking further clarification on timelines and Tesla's strategy for transitioning from advanced driver-assistance features to fully autonomous vehicles.

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Source: Investing.com