Vaporware salesmen Elmo Musk is lobbying lawmakers (threatening them with primaries?) to clear a national path for his driverless vehicles. Via Bloomberg:
In recent weeks, Musk and people who work for him have been calling members of Congress directly to gather support, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. He has also been weighing in on revisions of a bill introduced on May 15 that would begin setting up a basic framework for autonomous vehicles.
So the ALLEGEDLY drug-addled guy who STILL WORKS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE is pushing Congress members to get this done? No improper coercion there!
On Friday in an Oval Office press conference Musk said he will continue to advise President Donald Trump even after he steps away from the Department of Government Efficiency he has spearheaded.
“The administration’s policy is driven by one thing and one thing only: achieving the president’s agenda and his commitment to the American people,” White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Bloomberg.
Has the general public really been asking for this, though? The cities that have them now are very expensive tech centers. How will they work in Manhattan?
Clearing the path for autonomous vehicles would be a huge win for Musk, who has said he’s refocusing on running his business empire. He’s increasingly betting Tesla’s future on autonomy and robotics.
Tesla plans to launch its long-anticipated rideshare service in Austin on June 12, using a small fleet of existing Model Y SUVs, Bloomberg reported. Tesla also aims to add purpose-built Cybercabs, expected to reach volume production next year, to its rideshare service.
[...] Right now, Tesla’s Cybercab usage would be limited by federal rules that only allow special exemptions for a test batch of 2,500 vehicles that lack a steering wheel and control pedals. Tesla and other operators have pushed for years to get a federal standard to allow such driverless vehicles on America’s highways.
[...] In Texas, Tesla will face few regulations at its launch, with the state regulating autonomous vehicles much like any other car, only requiring cameras, insurance and the ability to follow traffic laws.
If there's one thing we've learned about the tech bro motto of "Move fast and break things," it's that safety for other people is unlikely to be the priority that would make most people comfortable. Every time Elmo's spaceships blow up, he enthuses about how much more they learn.
Maybe what the rest of us learn is that Musk can't be trusted to put safety first.
