This is the monthly edition of the Transport Workers Union’s Transportation Technology Newsletter. We aim to inform and educate our members, the labor movement, the public and policymakers about developments in transportation technology – and what the TWU is doing to ensure that new technology doesn’t undermine safety or harm the livelihoods of hard-working blue-collar workers. For suggestions and questions, please email ewytkind@gmail.com or adaugherty@twu.org.
The Tech Newsletter will take a one month hiatus in September but will be back in your inboxes in October.
ITEM OF THE MONTH
POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES: The beginning of August brought two significant developments in the autonomous vehicle space: a federal jury finding that Tesla’s Autopilot technology was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Miami and Amazon’s Zoox getting an exemption from U.S. motor vehicle requirements.
The Tesla verdict is a blow for the company as Elon Musk ramps up robotaxi operations in Texas. The four-year-old case showed how Tesla is slow to cough up evidence of data and video of crashes – something that has happened in other instances as well. A financial analyst interviewed by NPR said the verdict, which requires Tesla to pay more than $240 million, is “a big number that will send shock waves to others in the industry.” The driver of the Tesla during the trial admitted during testimony that he trusted the technology too much and said “that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.”
A reminder, in 2021 the NTSB called on Tesla to act on recommendations to limit where Tesla’s Autopilot system can operate. The NTSB said Tesla should limit usage on roads with pedestrians and prioritize use on highways.
But the bad news for Tesla, which relies on cameras and machine learning for its autonomous tech compared to other big players like Waymo, which uses other sensors like LIDAR and radar, comes as the federal government issued a green light to Amazon-backed Zoox to expand with boxy vehicles that do not have traditional controls for a human driver to use.
ZOOX GETS GREEN LIGHT: NHTSA announced that Zoox was granted an exemption from federal motor vehicle safety standards, with the company agreeing to obscure or remove existing statements declaring that their vehicles complied with the safety standards. NHTSA also agreed to close an investigation into Zoox’s self-certification that their vehicles met federal safety standards. The exemption, which Zoox said will allow the company to “move forward” comes a month after the Amazon subsidiary opened an assembly plant in California and plans to begin commercial service in Las Vegas later this year, CNBC reports.
“The recent announcements regarding Tesla and Zoox shows how complicated the environment for autonomous vehicles is, and why the TWU will remain vigilant,” said TWU International Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate. “A federal jury rightfully called out Tesla’s faulty ‘self-driving’ tech while Zoox’s exemption presents a threat to rideshare drivers and transit workers not only in Las Vegas, but nationwide.”
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
BOSTON SAYS NO TO WAYMO: As Waymo aggressively expands nationwide, Boston’s App Drivers Union, the Teamsters, and other labor groups voiced opposition at a rally outside city hall, WGBH reports. Boston City Council member Erin Murphy said robotaxis will “tear into many of our rideshare drivers’ lives and their ability to give to their families and raise their families here in the city.” An official representing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said “Our streets are complex, they’re congested, they are chaotic and even if Waymos can operate safely in Boston, if every Waymo drives like a confused out-of-state tourist, we will very quickly find them unwelcome on the streets of Boston.”
S’NO’W WAY: A Waymo official also noted the company’s tech is not yet vetted in snowy conditions, saying that testing and development on snowy roads is ongoing.
“Cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia should take note of what happens in cities like San Francisco, where robotaxis block emergency responders and cause havoc for pedestrians,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “Waymo admits their tech isn’t ready for snow – that means their vehicles shouldn’t be on the streets where snow storms happen all the time.”
HIRING FOR WHAT? Tesla is hiring test drivers in New York City to operate vehicles with “automated driving systems” even though the company has yet to apply for permits it would need to test autonomous vehicles in NYC, CNBC reports. A job opening on Tesla’s website says it is looking to hire operators in Queens. Waymo has applied to test AVs in New York City, but their application remains under review.
MORE UBER: Uber is partnering with driverless mobility company Nuro and electric vehicle company Lucid in a plan to launch a premium robotaxi service in 2026. Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid and several hundred million dollars in Nuro, initially known for its smaller, low-speed autonomous delivery vehicles but has shifted to licensing its driverless technology to auto and mobility companies.
The plan includes buying 20,000 of Lucid’s “Gravity SUV” models equipped with Nuro’s autonomous technologies. The partners claim the newly equipped Lucid vehicles will achieve “Level 4” automation, a term they are using to mean it can operate in certain conditions without a human in control. This marks Uber’s eighteenth partnership with mobility companies around the world in ride-hail, delivery and trucking. One of its partners is the largest robotaxi company in the U.S., Waymo, with the companies together offering “Waymo on Uber” in Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta with expansion plans apparently in the works.
AUTONOMOUS BUS IN SINGAPORE: Global mobility company WeRide has received approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority to begin an autonomous 8-seater Robobus service without a human operator on-board at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, an “integrated resort” that includes Universal Studios and casinos. WeRide has financial backing from major investors including Renault-Nissan, Nvidia, and several institutional investors.
The company claims this is Southeast Asia’s first driverless bus service permitted to operate without a human operator on-board, with WeRide’s Chief Financial Officer declaring the elimination of the driver a “ground-breaking milestone.”
“This isn’t a ‘milestone’ – it’s a dereliction of duty by transportation safety officials in Singapore who have approved removal of operators from the buses,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “We know this technology isn’t ready for primetime – when dangerous conditions emerge such as weather and unruly passenger incidents it is the operator, not the robotic bus, that will ensure the passengers are safe.”
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Aurora Begins Nighttime Driverless Trucking Operations. Trucking Dive.
Tesla Shares Down 25% This Year, Elon Musk Wealth Gets $30 Billion Boost. Associated Press.
May Mobility’s Robotaxis Will Come to Two More US Cities This Year. Smart Cities Dive.
Robocop Pilot Advances in Dubai. AI Business.
Tensor Wants to be the First Company to Sell You a ‘Robocar’ – But Who Are They? The Verge.