Cruise Yes, Tesla No – Application for Autonomous Driving
A few days ago, Cruise announced the resumption of its Robotaxi service, with the first city in Phoenix, Arizona. And in the same breath, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV) confirmed at the SF Examiners’s request that they have also received an application from Cruise, in which the GM subsidiary is requesting the reissuance of the permit. The application is now subject to a review as to whether the measures taken following the accident that led to the suspension of the operating license are sufficient. Only once the CA DMV has issued this permit will the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), which is responsible for cab regulations among other things, also review a possible application.
Tesla, on the other hand, has not yet applied for an autonomous driving license in California, as the CA DMV and the CPUC responded to inquiries from NBC News. This does not mean that Tesla has not applied in other states, as Tesla has moved its headquarters from Fremont, California to Austin, Texas during the pandemic.
However, Tesla has announced the unveil of a Robotaxi for August 8, and this would probably require a permit in at least one US state. At the same time, Tesla has made the latest version V12.3.3 of the Full Self Driving software FSD available on all Tesla vehicles driving in North America, even on those vehicles that have not yet purchased or subscribed to it.
I bought it myself in 2019 for $3,000 with my Tesla Model 3, in the meantime the price has risen to up to $15,000. In addition, the subscription price in the USA has been reduced to $99 per month, as Elon Musk announced in a tweet today.
I have already published a few videos about my own trips with the FSD over the last year and a half, including this one:
This article has also been published in German.
