New robots, new capabilities. Tracking what's coming for the workforce.
Robotics Tesla launched Cybercab in Austin on September 3: two seats, no steering wheel, no pedals, no physical way for anyone inside to take over. Texas's automated-vehicle registry hit 420 cars statewide the same day, while Tesla's own July disclosures showed paid robotaxi miles going in reverse, not up.
Robotics Under the draft, when full autonomy is switched on, the manufacturer handles the violation. The seat stops needing someone qualified to receive it.
Robotics Autonomous driving money went to robotaxis and long-haul rigs. Gatik took the leg between the distribution centre and the store, the dullest and most repeatable run on the map.
Robotics The Nevada Transportation Authority approved three robotaxi permits unanimously on August 20, opening Clark County to as many as 8,000 driverless vehicles over 12 months. Tesla's own Cybercab chief engineer told the hearing that 5,000 has always been a ceiling and 2,500 would satisfy him.
Robotics Kodiak AI announced a drivered testing permit from the California DMV on August 14, with Aurora Innovation in the same batch. It is stage one of three, and a safety operator still sits behind the wheel. The union's case in Alameda County Superior Court is not about the technology.
Robotics Waymo's Advice Letter No. 4 sat at the California Public Utilities Commission for nearly seven months before clearing on August 14. It covers 12 Northern California counties and six in the south, with Sacramento and San Diego as new markets. The union that would represent those drivers cleared its own threshold a week earlier.
Robotics Pony.ai and Uber named a 2,000-vehicle European commitment on August 13, expanding from Zagreb to four more cities. Pony.ai's whole global fleet stood above 1,700 vehicles at the end of Q1.
Robotics On April 24 at Auto China 2026, Pony.ai CEO James Peng said the all-in cost of a 2027 fully unmanned robotaxi — vehicle, autonomous-driving kit, and battery — will drop below 230,000 yuan (~$31K). That undercuts the domestically built Tesla Model 3. The labor cost of a taxi just collapsed into the capex line.