- The city of Palo Alto, California is considering a pilot program with Tesla's newly unveiled Robotaxi service
- City employees have already held preliminary conversations with Tesla about its proposal
- Tesla must first get regulatory approval from the CPUC
The Birthplace of Silicon Valley is considering cozying up with Tesla's latest venture: robotaxis. It turns out that the city of Palo Alto—where Tesla's engineering headquarters is located—has already been in talks with the automaker about its newest autonomous vehicles and is contemplating a deal that could make it the first municipality in the U.S. where Tesla would be permitted to deploy a fleet of robotaxis.
Palo Alto wasted no time discussing using these Cybercabs as a means of public transportation, especially since Tesla just unveiled the steering wheel-less two-door concept less than two weeks ago. The proposal was discussed at a recent city council meeting and could permit Tesla to test its first fleet of autonomous cars on public roads.
The proposal for Tesla's involvement in the City's transportation plan comes, in part, from city council member Greg Tanaka. Tanaka attended the Robotaxi unveiling event earlier this month and described it as "very impressive."
Tanaka acknowledged that he has already met with Ed Shikada, the City Manager of Palo Alto, and Philip Kamh, the city's Chief Transportation Official, to talk about a potential partnership with Tesla. He also advocated for the partnership at a Palo Alto City Council meeting earlier this week.
"Tesla has the technology, they have the hardware, but they’re looking at test areas," said Tanaka at the meeting on Monday. "That’s where Palo Alto comes in."
It turns out that the city isn't just blowing smoke here—it has full intentions of striking up a deal with the electric automaker if the right conditions align between the government and Tesla.
Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, City Spokesperson of Palo Alto, confirmed to Palo Alto Online that the city has already held preliminary discussions with Tesla about a potential partnership with the city. Tesla, of course, could not confirm or deny, as it dissolved its media team some time ago.
Now here's the wrench in the plans—it's not as simple as Palo Alto just saying, "Hey Tesla, come test on our streets." Meaning that there's no timetable or guarantee attached to this deployment.
The actual regulatory body that handles the permitting of autonomous vehicle programs is the California Public Utilities Commission. Tesla is currently not on the CPUC's list of issued AV permits and exemptions, though it does hold a permit through the California DMV to test with a driver behind the wheel. Tesla has also not logged any autonomous driving miles with the California DMV since at least 2021.
Tesla also hasn't been in the friendliest light with the government in recent years. The automaker has undergone probes into its Autopilot software over fraudulent claims and safety issues by California officials, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Department of Justice. So if the automaker plans on expanding its beta testing, it might need to start playing ball.
And if it does get permission to deploy driverless rides on California streets, it looks like Palo Alto wants to be the first in line for Tesla's new futuristic taxi service. The fact that the city is even considering this partnership shows a vast amount of trust in Tesla's vision-only autonomous driving capabilities. But at the end of the day, it's on Tesla to prove its tech. After all, it's one thing to talk about the possibilities of a driverless robotaxi service—it's another to deliver on them, especially safely.
