No-frills tech news

Global autos plug into China's tech edg | investinchina.chinaservicesinfo.com

CHENGDU — The latest Mercedes-Benz GLE SUV made its global debut at this year's Chengdu Motor Show, with an assisted-driving system jointly developed with Chinese autonomous driving technology provider Momenta. The new long-wheelbase GLE is also set to later adopt Momenta's R7 World Model, a self-improving physical artificial intelligence engine. Mercedes-Benz first invested in the Chinese startup in 2017, and their cooperation has expanded in recent years. For decades, foreign automakers followed a fixed business pattern: introducing overseas-developed models and technologies into China and making targeted adaptations for local consumers. However, as software and AI gain growing importance in modern automobiles, this industry dynamic has undergone a notable shift. Other global automakers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota are also partnering with Chinese companies in the field, as China's fast-moving auto market produces a new crop of tech suppliers. A new supplier landscape The booming and fast-evolving Chinese market serves as the core driver of this transformation. Once largely confined to vehicles priced above 300,000 yuan ($44,610), advanced assisted-driving features have gradually spread into the 150,000 to 200,000-yuan vehicle segment and, in some instances, even lower-tier markets. At the just-concluded Chengdu Motor Show 2026, the 29th edition, in Southwest China's Sichuan province, urban navigation assistance and automated parking — two of the most capable such functions — have become standard features on newly launched models. The shift is taking place as new-energy vehicles take a larger share of China's auto market. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, NEV sales reached 1.56 million units in July this year, accounting for more than 60 percent of monthly new vehicle sales for the first time. As NEVs spread across more price segments, Chinese automakers seek to differentiate their products through smart-driving functions. This rapid adoption, paired with fierce competition among carmakers,

Wayve, Uber Launch Supervised <b>Autonomous</b> Rides in London

Insider Brief - Wayve and Uber have launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking what Wayve says is the first autonomous ride-hailing service available in the U.K. - Londoners requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E, with a Transport for London-licensed driver onboard during the initial phase and service available across the city except airports. - The rollout is part of a broader partnership to bring Wayve-powered vehicles to Uber in 12 markets, with Nissan Leaf vehicles using the Wayve AI Driver and Nvidia Drive Hyperion also planned for Tokyo later this year. Wayve and Uber have launched supervised autonomous rides in London. According to Wayve, it markes the first time autonomous trips are available through a ride-hailing service in the U.K. and Londoners requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E at no additional cost. The all-electric vehicles use the Wayve AI Driver and surround sensors, while a trained and Transport for London-licensed private hire driver remains onboard during the initial phase. “We’re proud to introduce the Wayve AI Driver to the public for the first time right here in London, our home city and one of the most complex driving environments in the world,” Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in the announcement. “Autonomous driving technology will complement the city’s rich transport network, and we’re excited for Londoners to experience it first as we begin our global rollout with Uber.” The service is starting with a small number of vehicles and will operate across London except airports, according to the companies. Riders can accept the autonomous vehicle or switch to a conventional ride before it arrives, and can use the Uber app to unlock the car and begin the trip.

NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Tesla Cybercab Self-Certification Following Austin Deployment

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Tesla’s self-certification that its Cybercab complies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards following the commercial deployment of driverless Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. NHTSA opened an Audit Query, designated AQ26002, to examine the basis for Tesla’s certification of the Cybercab and determine whether the vehicle meets existing federal safety requirements. Under the U.S. vehicle regulatory framework, automakers are responsible for certifying that their vehicles comply with applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards before those vehicles enter the market. NHTSA oversees that self-certification process and can investigate when questions arise about whether a vehicle actually complies with the applicable standards. The Cybercab inquiry is notable because the vehicle is designed without traditional human driving controls, creating questions around how existing federal safety requirements apply to a vehicle built specifically for autonomous operation. NHTSA said the Audit Query will review the technical data and processes Tesla relied upon when self-certifying the Cybercab. The agency will also examine whether Tesla’s compliance framework treated certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards as inapplicable because the Cybercab lacks traditional controls intended for human drivers. The investigation follows Tesla’s deployment of the Cybercab for commercial driverless service in Austin, Texas. NHTSA emphasized that existing federal vehicle safety standards remain in force even as the agency works to modernize regulations for autonomous and next-generation vehicles. The agency has begun work on eight rulemakings intended to update existing standards, including requirements involving brake pedals, windshield wipers, lighting and rearview mirrors. Those efforts are intended to remove regulatory barriers that may no longer fit vehicles designed around automated driving systems while maintaining federal safety requirements. Until those revised standards are finalized, however, manufacturers remain responsible for complying with the current regulatory framework. The

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick plans to re-ent...

Walmart expands delivery to Dunkin' products, challenging Uber Eats and DoorDash with fast, combined orders. Walmart is launching delivery of Dunkin' products from its stores and plans to expand to most Dunkin' locations nationwide, competing directly with food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash. This move builds on Walmart's existing Subway deli...

Uber Co-Founder Eyes Return to Ride-Hailing With Atoms Startup

That’s according to a report Sunday (Sept. 6) by the Financial Times (FT), which said Travis Kalanick is looking to develop robotaxi technology by reuniting with veterans of Uber’s autonomous vehicles team in a bid to achieve a decade-old goal. Thanks to a recent $1.7 billion funding round, Atoms is about to embark on a hiring spree to bring on autonomous engineering talent, sources familiar with Kalanick’s plans told FT. Atoms, which Kalanick has described as a “physical AI” company, has also held early talks with Uber about using its technology for robotaxis on its ride-hailing network, these sources said. They added that Uber has invested $100 million in Atoms. A tie-up would be Kalanick’s first involvement in ride-hailing at Uber since he left its board in 2019, the report said. He was forced out as CEO in 2017 after an independent investigation into Uber’s handling of sexual harassment complaints criticized the company and recommended Kalanick step back. We’d love to be your preferred source for news. Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! “A lot of the things that would have happened with Uber over time are things we’re doing now,” Kalanick said this month at an event hosted by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz in San Francisco, per FT. The report said it interviewed several current and former Atoms and Uber employees about Kalanick’s return to the ride-hailing space after nearly a decade on the sidelines. Uber declined to comment for FT, while Atoms said it is “an industrial software company focused [on] industrial applications.” “We have no plans to enter the saturated robotaxi market. Uber is a partner of Atoms and can use our technology for its ridesharing business if it is helpful,” the company

Tesla Cybercab vs. Waymo in Austin: Your Questions Answered

Two stories dropped within minutes of each other early Saturday morning that together paint a clearer picture of where Tesla's Cybercab actually stands. First, close-up images revealed the dual front-facing cameras mounted behind the Cybercab's windshield. Then, a rider who spent the weekend in Austin Cybercabs before switching to Waymo after the 10 PM cutoff had a blunt verdict: Tesla wasn't even close to being matched. Here's what we know. What do the new Cybercab camera images actually show? X user @DirtyTesLa posted close-up photos of the two forward-facing cameras positioned behind the Cybercab's windshield glass. The dual-camera arrangement is visible from inside the cabin and represents part of the sensor suite Tesla relies on for its vision-only autonomous driving approach — no lidar, no radar. Why does a dual front camera setup matter? Tesla's vision-based system processes depth and spatial information by comparing input from two cameras at slightly different positions — a stereo-vision approach. For a purpose-built robotaxi with no steering wheel and no human fallback, the reliability of that forward perception is critical. These images are the first close look at how that hardware is physically integrated into the Cybercab's cabin design. How did the Cybercab actually perform against Waymo in Austin? @Whole Mars Catalog rode Cybercabs throughout the weekend following the paid public launch on September 4, then switched to Waymo after Tesla Robotaxi's 10 PM service cutoff. His assessment was direct: Tesla's system was substantially better — smoother, more confident, and more natural in its driving behavior. The gap, in his words, wasn't marginal. Is that comparison fair to Waymo? Partly, and @wholemars acknowledged it. Austin is described as Tesla's strongest Robotaxi market — the city's road layout, weather conditions, and the density of Tesla's training data there all favor the system. Waymo, by contrast,

'Unfinished business': Travis Kalanick revisits robotaxis with new start-up

‘Unfinished business’: Travis Kalanick revisits robotaxis with new start-up Subscribe to unlock this article Try unlimited access Only $1 for 4 weeks Then $75 per month. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Cancel anytime during your trial. Explore more offers. Standard Digital $45 per month Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. Premium Digital Complete coverage $75 per month Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. FT Digital Edition $16.99 per month Our digitised version of the FT newspaper, for easy reading on any device. Check whether you already have access via your university or organisation. Terms & Conditions apply Explore our full range of subscriptions. For individuals Discover all the plans currently available in your country For multiple readers Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content.

Federal Regulators Probe Tesla's Safety Certification of Cybercab

Federal auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into whether Tesla properly certified its new Cybercab for use on public roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the probe on Friday, one day after Tesla held a closed-door Cybercab launch event in Austin, Texas. The two-seat, gold-colored electric vehicle is designed to operate without a human driver. It has no steering wheel, brake pedals, or traditional side mirrors. Existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require manual controls like brake pedals. The Transportation Department is working to update some of those rules to accommodate fully autonomous vehicles, but those changes have not yet been finalized. Tesla did not seek a federal exemption that would allow it to operate the Cybercab in a commercial fleet, according to NHTSA. Instead, the company certified that the vehicle already meets all the applicable standards. NHTSA said it will examine the technical data and process Tesla used to reach that conclusion. In particular, the agency will look at whether Tesla determined that some federal safety standards do not apply because the Cybercab was designed without traditional driver controls. “NHTSA fully supports the safe development and deployment of automated vehicles. But as the federal regulator, we need to ensure that all of our laws are followed,” Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in a statement. “Our approach of balancing innovation with safety oversight will allow the United States to maintain its global leadership in [automated vehicle] innovation.” Tesla did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment before publication. The Cybercab launch was relatively low-key compared with many of Tesla’s previous product events. CEO Elon Musk was not present, and the event, which was closed to the media, was not livestreamed. Zoox Faced Similar Scrutiny There is precedent for NHTSA questioning how an autonomous-vehicle maker certified

Tesla to exhibit Cybercab robotaxi in China: can it spark buzz amid slow sales?

Tesla to exhibit Cybercab robotaxi in China: can it spark buzz amid slow sales? While the company stresses the tour does not signal the vehicle will be sold in China, some observers believe it could still bolster the brand’s position Tesla is facing weaker sales in China this year, but the American electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer is looking to generate a buzz in its second-largest market by exhibiting its new self-driving vehicle, the Cybercab. The robotaxi – which operates entirely without a steering wheel, pedals or rear-view mirrors – would debut in major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, starting mid-September in a showcase of product design and technological sophistication, according to Tesla China. However, the company clarified that the Cybercab exhibition did not indicate the cars would be sold in China, nor that Tesla’s robotaxi business would operate there any time soon. Still, industry observers and automotive dealers noted that the promotional tour could strengthen Tesla’s brand visibility in the world’s largest EV market, bringing potential longer-term benefits. “It will convince thousands of visitors at Tesla showrooms that the company remains a global leader in autonomous driving,” said Steve Shi, a manager at Juchen Auto Trade, a China-based car service firm. “Despite facing stiff competition here, Tesla still has a large fan base in China who want to buy its cars.” The Cybercab entered mass production at Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory in April. The two-seat model relies entirely on a self-driving system to navigate public streets without traditional manual controls.

Uber robotaxis hit London's streets, but with humans still behind the wheel

Uber robotaxis hit London's streets, but with humans still behind the wheel Robotaxis are on the roads of London, marking Uber's biggest real-world challenge yet in a busy city built on a dense layout and countless roundabouts. This week, Uber rolled out 15 autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles in London powered by artificial intelligence. The project is a partnership with British technology company Wayve. As of now, a supervisor must be on board the vehicle because London regulators still do not allow full autonomy on the roads yet. And while the robotaxis can travel anywhere within London, they cannot yet make trips to the airport. Kendall noted some of the challenges that Wayve and Uber faced in the development process in a city with some roads that are hundreds of years old. "There's many roundabouts, interaction scenarios, there's more than 10 times more cyclists and pedestrians than you can see in cities like San Francisco," Kendall said. "More than 10 times the amount of roadwork, so it's just a constantly busy and evolving city." Wayve's investor base, along with Uber, also includes Nvidia and Microsoft. Its chief competitor, Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, has been mapping London with its vehicles, but has not yet rolled them out for public use. In an interview with "60 Minutes" earlier this year, Kendall explained that Wayve's AI differs from that of Waymo in that it does not map out a city before driving it. "We train it on millions of hours of experience driving all around the world," Kendall said at the time. "So this means when it goes somewhere it's never seen before or that's never been mapped, it can understand what's in front of it and make decisions in real time." Wayve has driven its vehicles in more

MIT's CW-Net helps people spot flawed reasoning in <b>autonomous cars</b> | The Rundown AI

MIT’s CW-Net helps people spot flawed reasoning in autonomous cars MIT and Motional’s CW-Net reveals concepts behind autonomous car decisions, helping people recognize flawed reasoning while leaving safety questions open. MIT and autonomous driving company Motional have built a system that makes parts of a car’s planning process visible as it drives. Called CW-Net, it presents concepts such as “close to cyclist” and “approaching stopped vehicle” alongside the vehicle’s planned trajectory, giving people another way to recognize when its reasoning may be going wrong. The researchers published their findings in Nature on September 2. As covered in The Rundown’s September 3 newsletter, the work points toward a practical benefit for safety drivers and engineers: spotting a worrying mismatch between what a car does and why its planner does it. How CW-Net makes planning visible Autonomous cars can produce a sensible maneuver for a flawed reason. Watching a vehicle stop tells an observer little about whether its planner correctly accounted for a nearby cyclist or whether another safety system intervened. CW-Net exposes recognizable concepts within that process. In its principal architecture, the concept layer’s outputs feed into the final stage that scores possible trajectories. That gives the explanations a direct role in the planning decision. Motional describes a dashboard of concept activations, offering a view into specific parts of the planner’s reasoning. According to MIT’s September 2 announcement, researchers deployed the system in a Motional robotaxi on a private track, generating explanations in real time alongside planned trajectories. A stop that concealed a planning problem In one test, a driver initially believed the car stopped because it had accounted for a cyclist. The concept display raised doubts: cyclist activation was low. The paper gives an important distinction. The perception system had detected the cyclist, but the experimental planner was not configured

Tesla Cybercab Is Officially Launched... And NHTSA Wants To Know How It Was Certified

Tesla Cybercab Is Officially Launched... And NHTSA Wants To Know How It Was Certified Tesla's Cybercab has finally crossed an important line from futuristic prototype to commercial vehicle. A small number are now carrying paying passengers in Austin, Texas, without the steering wheel and pedals you'd normally expect to find inside a road-going car. Those missing controls have always been fundamental to the Cybercab's design. They also raise an interesting regulatory question now that Tesla is putting the purpose-built autonomous vehicle into commercial service rather than simply demonstrating it. NHTSA opened an investigation on September 3, the same day Tesla began the Cybercab's commercial deployment. Tesla informed the agency that it had certified the vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or FMVSS. The regulator isn't accusing Tesla of breaking those standards. Instead, it wants to understand how the automaker determined which federal requirements apply to a vehicle designed from the outset to operate without a human driver. NHTSA Wants To See Tesla's Homework Unlike a conventional car, the Cybercab lacks permanently attached manual controls, including a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, and mirrors. Those omissions put it in unusual territory because many existing safety standards were developed around vehicles controlled by human drivers. NHTSA says its investigation will examine the process and technical data Tesla relied upon when certifying the Cybercab. Importantly, the agency will also look at whether Tesla's certification depended on determining that certain FMVSS requirements simply aren't applicable to the vehicle. Automakers generally self-certify that their vehicles meet applicable federal safety standards, so Tesla's decision to certify the Cybercab itself isn't unusual. The interesting part is how those standards were interpreted for a vehicle deliberately designed without traditional driving controls. There's Already A Precedent Tesla isn't the first autonomous-vehicle company to

Amazon Zoox brings steering wheel-free robotaxi to Houston

JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Please enable JavaScript to proceed. A required part of this site couldn’t load. This may be due to a browser extension, network issues, or browser settings. Please check your connection, disable any ad blockers, or try using a different browser.

Aiming to Surpass Nvidia in China's High-End <b>Autonomous Driving</b> Chip Market Next Year

Horizon Robotics' Yu Kai: Aiming to Surpass Nvidia in China's High-End Autonomous Driving Chip Market Next Year Horizon Robotics founder and CEO Yu Kai laid out a clear objective at the 2026 Yabuli Entrepreneurs Forum Summer Annual Meeting: to surpass Nvidia and seize the top position in China's high-end autonomous driving chip market next year. Just two days before the forum opened, Horizon Robotics announced that its Journey intelligent driving chips had surpassed 15 million units in mass production, with production scale and market share continuing to lead China's domestic intelligent driving chip sector. On September 5, at the opening ceremony of the 22nd Yabuli Forum Summer Annual Meeting held in Chengdu, Yu Kai was invited to serve as a newly appointed board member of the forum. His attitude toward the new role was notably pragmatic: "As a newly appointed board member, I still need to listen to the board and contribute more." When discussing the milestone of Journey chips surpassing 15 million units in mass production, Yu Kai's reaction was unexpectedly understated. He remarked with a smile: "I was happy for about two seconds, then it passed and I turned the page. We're always on the road — if there are 15 million, there will be 20 million." To date, Journey intelligent driving chips have cumulatively empowered 8 million vehicle owners, with partnerships established across more than 40 automotive brands. From Robot Computing to Automotive Chips: The Strategic Path In his speech, Yu Kai reflected on the original intent behind the company's name. He explained that the company was initially named "Horizon Robotics" because he believed that whether it's autonomous vehicles or robots, there should be a unified computing standard, a unified computing chip, and an operating system. "When we started, the robotics industry hadn't yet developed, but automobiles

Weekly roundup: Toyota &amp; Honda hit hardest by Canada tariffs, FTC warns of fake ...

ICYMI: Toyota and Honda face the biggest threat from Trump’s Canada auto tariffs. The FTC is warning car buyers about fake dealership websites and payment scams. Hyundai plans to take Amazon Autos international as early as 2027. Ford’s Super Duty production hit a 20-year high in August. A bipartisan bill in the House would force a federal audit of automakers’ ties to China. Here’s a closer look at these top stories and more headlines to stay on top of this week’s automotive industry news. Toyota and Honda face biggest impacts from Trump’s Canada auto tariff President Donald Trump said tariffs on Canadian-built vehicles, parts and steel will climb to 50% on Jan. 1, 2027, doubling the current 25% rate under Section 232. Toyota and Honda build most of Canada’s vehicles, including the RAV4 and CR-V, which puts them directly in the tariff’s path. Read More FTC warns car buyers about fake dealership websites and payment scams The FTC is cautioning shoppers about counterfeit dealership sites that copy real branding, vehicle listings, photos and even customer testimonials. Buyers are urged to confirm the vehicle and the dealership actually exist before sending any money. Read More Hyundai plans international expansion of Amazon Autos as early as 2027 Hyundai expects Amazon Autos to move into international markets as soon as 2027, opening another digital retail channel for dealers. Used and certified pre-owned inventory is already part of the platform. Read More Ford’s Super Duty production hits 20-year high as it recovers from supplier shortages Ford’s Super Duty production hit a 20-year high in August, the automaker confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday. Output topped 39,000 units, Ford‘s best month for the truck since March 2006. F-150 production also reached its highest level since August 2024. Both figures mark a turnaround from the aluminum shortage

Tesla Cybercab Doesn't Support AC Charging

When engineering a vehicle purely around commercial fleet operations, standard automotive equipment often gets stripped away to reduce costs and boost reliability. While consumers take home wall-box charging for granted, Tesla’s dedicated two-seater autonomous vehicle skips that capability altogether. Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner) from Out of Spec Reviews confirmed the Cybercab’s unique charging architecture on X following hands-on time in Austin: “It does not support AC charging. Perhaps if they ever sell a consumer version it would be needed but for fleet only, there’s no OBC - which is kind of cool for cost / durability optimization.” The omission means Cybercab completely lacks an onboard charger (OBC) to convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). As a result, plugging the vehicle into a standard Level 2 charger simply won’t work. It only accepts DC fast charging. Fleet Economics Over Traditional Home Charging Ditching the onboard charger makes practical sense for commercial ride-hailing networks. An OBC adds weight, manufacturing complexity, thermal management needs, and production costs. For a commercial vehicle meant to stay in near-constant motion, trickle-charging for hours on an 11.5 kW AC home charger doesn’t really make sense. Instead, Tesla is designing dedicated commercial infrastructure around high-speed turnaround. It is already building massive charging and maintenance hubs to support its Robotaxi rollout, designed specifically to service driverless fleets. Even if private buyers eventually purchase Cybercabs to deploy on the autonomous network, they wouldn’t necessarily need to rely solely on Superchargers or other public charging infrastructure. Tesla could open these automated fleet depots to private owners, bundling rapid charging, automated cleaning, and routine maintenance directly into its ride-hail service commission. What DC-Only Charging Means for Retail Ownership The absence of an AC charger raises questions about how consumer ownership would work. Right now, Cybercab units rolling out for commercial rides

NHTSA Launches Probe Into Tesla Cybercab as Public Rides Begin

Right as the first public rides began in downtown Austin, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a formal investigation into whether Tesla’s purpose-built Cybercab was properly certified to operate on U.S. roads. According to a report from Reuters, federal regulators are reviewing the internal technical data and compliance procedures Tesla used to self-certify up to 1,000 Cybercab vehicles under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The inquiry comes right as Tesla unveiled the Cybercab at an official launch event on Thursday. Following free demo rides for attendees, the Cybercab joined the Robotaxi fleet and started offering commercial rides on Friday, allowing anyone in Austin to book the vehicle through the Robotaxi app. Self-Certification and Missing Human Controls Under standard U.S. automotive rules, vehicle manufacturers self-certify that their products comply with federal standards before delivering them to customers. While retrofitted vehicles like the Model Y robotaxi meet conventional definitions, the Cybercab’s complete lack of a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and side-view mirrors throws a wrench in the works. Federal regulations generally require automakers building vehicles without traditional manual controls to petition NHTSA for a temporary regulatory exemption. NHTSA has the statutory authority to allow up to 2,500 exempted driverless vehicles per manufacturer per year, a pathway Amazon-owned Zoox successfully used in July for its custom robotaxis. Tesla never submitted an exemption petition for the Cybercab, however. Instead, Tesla self-certified SAE Level 4 autonomy in Texas earlier this spring under new state rules. Furthermore, Tesla leadership previously confirmed that the Cybercab isn’t subject to the 2,500-per-year production cap. NHTSA is now assessing the legal and engineering basis of that stance, examining whether Tesla improperly concluded that certain standard federal mandates simply didn’t apply to the Cybercab. Addressing the ongoing investigation, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison noted: “NHTSA fully supports

Tesla slides after Cybercab launch draws probe | Business | avpress.com

Tesla Inc. shares tumbled the most in six weeks after a formal rollout of the Cybercab driverless car left investors underwhelmed and drew fresh scrutiny from US auto regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a probe into the process and technical data Tesla relied on when the company self-certified the vehicles — which have no steering wheels or foot pedals — as compliant with all federal safety standards. The agency conducts investigations when “certified vehicles appear to not adhere to these requirements,” it said in a statement. The decision underscored the uncertain path forward for the unorthodox vehicle, which lacks certain driver controls that are typically required by federal standards. The regulatory hurdles are among the many unknowns surrounding the vehicle, alongside technological and market-readiness questions. The Cybercab, which has been in testing in multiple US cities in recent months, is seen as a key piece of Tesla’s plan to evolve beyond a maker of electric vehicles into a pioneer of artificial intelligence products. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has pitched Cybercab as the eventual backbone of a vast robotaxi fleet reaching most of the US, vowing to deploy thousands of the cars. Against that backdrop, the company’s introduction of the vehicle into passenger service late Thursday in Austin was uncharacteristically low-key, with no livestream or media access. The automaker opened a Cybercab-specific webpage earlier in the day and posted on social media that public rides would begin Friday evening. The “Cybercab event was largely a bust,” Gary Black, co-founder of Future Fund Advisors, wrote on X. “The launch offered little detail and key questions remained unanswered.” Tesla shares fell 6% at 11:09 a.m. Friday in New York, the biggest intraday since July 23. Details of the closed-door launch were posted by influencers who were invited.