By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario – May 3, 2019 – In this week’s Autonomous Report, Tesla is dealing with a lawsuit, Florida has passed a bill for self-driving cars and Toyota has made another investment into self-driving cars and robotic technology.
Tesla Suit
Last year 38-year-old Walter Huang, an Apple engineer was driving his Tesla Model X SUV on autopilot mode when the vehicle crashed into a safety barrier killing him. The family of is now suing the OEM stating that it was a malfunction with the autopilot software that ultimately caused the crash. While Tesla is making promises to have fully self-driving technology in its vehicles by as early as next year, some analysts are saying the software isn’t trustworthy in terms of safety. The suit is accusing the electric car maker of a number of things including, defective product design, intentional and negligent misrepresentation and false advertising. The suit is also stating that the car failed to use its automatic emergency braking system.
Florida’s Bill
Meanwhile, in Florida, a bill passed legalizing the use of self-driving cars statewide. The bill will also allow Florida drivers to use self-driving cars for ride-sharing services such as Uber. Uber has reacted to the bill and is quite pleased with the outcome. “On behalf of Uber, we thank the Florida Legislature and their leadership in helping Florida continue to be a leader in welcoming self-driving technology,” Stephanie Smith, Uber’s senior policy manager, said in a media release. “This measure provides direction on the roles of state and local government and authorization for the deployment of automated vehicles on a ridesharing network. These provisions establish a clear pathway to bring the benefits of automation to our state.”
Toyota’s Investment
Toyota has recently announced that it will be creating a $100 million venture fund to invest in autonomous driving and robotic technology start-ups. Just last month Toyota and auto supplier Denso said they would be investing $667 million into Uber’s self-driving vehicle unit. The company said in a news release, that the fund is part of Toyota’s mission to help discover what’s next for the automaker. Over the past two years, Toyota’s AI fund has invested into 19 different start-ups, totaling it out to be $200 million.
