{"id":92252,"date":"2025-12-16T12:30:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T09:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=92252"},"modified":"2025-12-16T12:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T09:35:28","slug":"tesla-begins-testing-driverless-taxis-without-onboard-supervisors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/tesla-begins-testing-driverless-taxis-without-onboard-supervisors\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Begins Testing Driverless Taxis Without Onboard Supervisors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tesla has initiated trials of driverless taxis without supervisory drivers, though passengers are not yet involved. This was announced by the company&#8217;s head, Elon Musk.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Testing is underway with no occupants in the car<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/2000302654837371181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Today, a driverless Tesla robotaxi was spotted on the roads of Austin, Texas. There was no one in the car, including a safety driver. Fully autonomous. It is really happening,&#8221; wrote X user DogeDesigner.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The company&#8217;s shares rose by 3.56% on Monday. Over the year, they have increased by 18% and are trading about 1% below the record highs recorded in December 2024.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-c06a72029fff59c1-1093470089229807.webp\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-271815\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/TSLA\/\">Yahoo Finance<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For over a decade, Musk has promised investors and Tesla customers the transformation of electric vehicles into driverless transport capable of functioning as robotaxis and traveling across the country without human intervention.<\/p>\n<p>In June, the company <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/tesla-launches-driverless-taxi-service\">launched<\/a> its first test rides in Austin. One passenger noted the vehicle&#8217;s high speed and autonomous parking capabilities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-4c66e4aa22b41dcc-1093490494829908.webp\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-271816\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The fleet will awaken thanks to an over-the-air software update. Slowly, then all at once,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Tesla\/status\/2000322639236407527\">states<\/a> Tesla&#8217;s X account.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As of mid-October, the company&#8217;s vehicles were involved in seven accidents. The collisions were not serious.<\/p>\n<p>Carnegie Mellon University professor and autonomous systems safety researcher Philip Koopman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/12\/15\/tesla-tests-driverless-cars-in-austin-without-humans-on-board.html\">noted<\/a> the significance of this, considering the small fleet of about 30 cars and the presence of a safety controller in each vehicle to prevent accidents.<\/p>\n<p>The California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Public Utilities Commission confirmed that Tesla has not yet applied for the permits required to test driverless cars in the state without a human driver or for the commercial operation of robotaxis.<\/p>\n<p>In the autonomous vehicle sector, Tesla lags behind Alphabet&#8217;s Waymo in the US and firms Apollo Go and WeRide in Asia.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Musk&#8217;s $600 Billion Fortune<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>However, Musk surpasses competitors in terms of capital. His wealth has reached a record, exceeding $600 billion for the first time, following a new valuation of SpaceX.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-12-15\/musk-s-fortune-soars-above-600-billion-on-new-spacex-valuation?srnd=phx-ai\">Bloomberg<\/a>, the valuation of the billionaire&#8217;s total assets increased to nearly $638 billion after the company&#8217;s value reached $800 billion due to insider stock sales.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-2f5930fb31f46dcf-1093549933042127.webp\" alt=\"image\" class=\"wp-image-271817\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musk&#8217;s fortune. Source: Bloomberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>SpaceX has once again become the most valuable private company in the world. Previously, OpenAI <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/openai-becomes-worlds-most-valuable-private-company\">displaced<\/a> it from the leading position. However, the battle is not over \u2014 the ChatGPT developer <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/reports-openai-plans-1-trillion-ipo\">is preparing<\/a> for a public stock offering with a valuation of $1 trillion. Although in such a case, it will lose its private company status.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&#8217;s space firm also plans an initial public offering with a valuation of $1.5 trillion. If successful, the entrepreneur could become the first trillionaire in human history \u2014 he owns 42% of the shares.<\/p>\n<p>Back in December, Time magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ai-architects-named-persons-of-the-year-by-time\">named<\/a> Musk and other AI architects as &#8220;Persons of the Year.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tesla has initiated trials of driverless taxis without supervisory drivers, though passengers are not yet involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Tesla tests driverless taxis without onboard supervisors; passengers not yet involved.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[438,1319],"class_list":["post-92252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-tesla"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"157","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Tesla tests driverless taxis without onboard supervisors; passengers not yet involved.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92254,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92252\/revisions\/92254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}