AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tesla is in talks with the city of Austin over its autonomous vehicle technology. A spokesperson for the Transportation and Public Works Department confirmed Tesla reached out to the city's autonomous vehicle task force.
"The City treats each AV company that expresses interest in Austin the same, offering training opportunities and providing uniform information," the transportation spokesperson said in an email to KXAN.
Some examples of information provided to Tesla and other AV companies include:
"Although cities in Texas cannot regulate AVs, Austin has worked with autonomous vehicle companies as they enter the market to offer staff's knowledge on the local transportation network to help AVs operate more safely," the spokesperson said.
KXAN reached out to Tesla and is waiting for a response.
According to the city's website, there have been a total of 75 incidents with AVs in Austin since 2023.
Austin Transportation and Public Works staff gather incident information from other departments and via Austin 311 service requests. Staff members update the dashboard weekly on Mondays, according to the website.
Categories include:
According to the dashboard, a majority of incidents are near misses, followed by blocking traffic and safety concerns. The city's data showed eight collisions since 2023.
"These reports to the City about AV incidents are not validated," the website said. "This data reflects only those occurrences which have been directly reported to the City and may not capture all events that occur throughout the City of Austin."
