Tesla has started hyping its upcoming ‘unsupervised full self-driving’ launch in Austin in June. Let’s cut through the hype.

Here’s what Tesla will actually launch.

CEO Elon Musk has been talking about Tesla launching self-driving programs in Texas and California in Q2 2025 since last year.

Lately, he has turned Tesla’s focus to a specific paid ride-hailing service using self-driving in Austin, Texas in June. Here’s what he said precisely during Tesla’s last earnings call in January:

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So, we’re going to be launching unsupervised full self-driving as a paid service in Austin in June. So, I talked to the team. We feel confident in being able to do an initial launch of unsupervised, no one in the car, full self-driving in Austin in June. We already have Teslas operating autonomously unsupervised full self-driving at our factory in Fremont, and we’ll soon be doing that at our factory in Texas.

The “unsupervised self-driving” operation in Fremont that Musk is referring to is simply Tesla’s vehicles driving themselves to loading areas at low speeds and on private roads – it’s a world of difference compared to operating unsupervised on public roads.

Speaking of the word “unsupervised,” it’s an important term that comes from Tesla’s telling owners that its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) features require “supervision” at all times.

Therefore, going “unsupervised” is an critical step for Tesla and something that Musk promised would happen for all owners who bought its ‘FSD’ package every year for the last 6 years.

Now, Tesla is hyping the upcoming launch as “the future is autonomous and it starts in Austin, this June”:

With the launch coming within just a few months, there’s still a lot of confusion around what Tesla will actually launch in Austin.

What will Tesla actually launch in Austin

Based on all the information released to date, Tesla plans to have an internal vehicle fleet, consisting of its existing vehicle lineup, although some believe Tesla will also use its new Cybercab, offering a paid ride-hailing service (à la Uber) in a geo-fenced area around Austin.

This is a significant shift for Tesla, which has been promising that all its consumer vehicles built since 2016 have all the hardware necessary for unsupervised self-driving and that it would come through a future over-the-air software update.

Musk has claimed that Tesla would turn a switch and enable millions of robotaxis overnight.

At the same time, he has criticized Waymo’s strategy of deploying its system in mapped geo-fenced areas for being too difficult to scale.

However, Tesla’s upcoming launch in Austin is extremely similar to what Waymo has been operating for years, with the main difference being that Tesla only uses cameras while Waymo uses a full array of different sensors, including lidar.

Musk also said that the Austin service will be “unsupervised” with “no one in the car,” but those are not exactly the same.

While there might be no one in the cars, we reported that Tesla was looking to hire people to work in teleoperation to support its self-driving vehicles shortly after announcing its plan for unsupervised ride-hailing services in Texas and California last year.

This would suggest that Tesla will use teleoperation to at least “supervise” the fleet of vehicles to be deployed in Austin.

Electrek’s Take

It’s pretty funny that Tesla would claim “the future is autonomous and it starts in Austin, this June” after Elon claimed that autonomous driving was a “solved problem” 10 years ago.

Furthermore, Waymo has been operating in several cities for years the exact service that Tesla plans to launch in Austin, including in Austin itself, since earlier this year.

To be clear, I’m not saying that Tesla’s launch of this service is a bad thing; I’m just saying it is a massive pivot compared to what Tesla, and Elon in particular, have been claiming it would launch for years.

It feels like after being consistently wrong about when unsupervised self-driving is coming for the last 6 years, Elon needs a win, and this enables Tesla to claim that it delivered self-driving – even if it’s not the unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles that it has been promising owners for years.

It will help distract from the current mess that comes with the recent admission that the millions of HW3 vehicles on the road will not be capable of self-driving. I also think that HW4 vehicles are going to be next.

Orange County, California, is set to enforce new regulations for electric bicycles starting in April 2025, reflecting growing safety concerns amid rapidly increasing e-bike use. According to county supervisor Katrina Foley, e-bike-related accidents have surged by an alarming 500% since 2020, prompting local authorities to introduce stricter rules aimed at curbing dangerous riding behaviors and enhancing public safety.

The new regulations will define clearer speed limits and classifications for e-bikes, particularly distinguishing them from more powerful electric motorcycles. Notably, any two-wheeled electric vehicle producing more than 750 watts of power will fall outside the e-bike category, which aligns with California’s new, more clearly delineated regulations for electric bicycles. Enforcement officials will have clearer guidelines to identify and regulate vehicles appropriately.

Local communities within Orange County have voiced concerns about unsafe e-bike practices, especially on sidewalks and pedestrian-heavy areas. Cities like Cypress are specifically targeting Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes, capable of speeds up to 28 mph, due to their higher risk of causing serious accidents involving pedestrians and younger riders. Cypress officials have already taken steps to restrict these faster e-bikes from sidewalks entirely.

Orange Police Chief Adam Jevec highlighted enforcement challenges, citing incidents where certain modified e-bikes reached speeds up to 50 mph—far exceeding the legal limits intended for traditional bicycles. However, such instances often cited by police and regulatory officials are usually related to larger Sur Ron-style electric motorbikes and not the smaller electric bicycles more commonly seen around California cities. Recent targeted enforcement operations by local police have resulted in numerous citations, demonstrating authorities’ commitment to actively policing these new regulations.

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Advocates from the OC Bicycle Coalition have urged authorities to develop uniform regulations across the entire county, pointing out that inconsistent rules from city to city create confusion for riders and enforcement officials alike. Coalition Director Bill Sellin argues that unified regulations would provide greater clarity, facilitate compliance, and ultimately improve safety conditions county-wide.

These changes in Orange County are part of a broader trend across California and the U.S., where communities are adapting to the rapid growth of electric bicycles.

Recently, California state legislators introduced proposals to standardize speed restrictions and enhance safety education for young riders statewide. Additionally, major cities like San Diego and San Francisco have implemented stricter guidelines regarding the use of electric scooters and bikes in densely populated areas.

Nationally, several states have also revisited their e-bike legislation, emphasizing clearer definitions, mandatory safety equipment, and restricted access to certain public spaces. As e-bike adoption continues to grow and more members of the public adopt electric bicycles for alternative transportation, similar legislative shifts are likely to occur across the country following growing waves of e-bike adoption rates.

via: Voice of OC

The Nissan LEAF is now a crossover with some pretty major upgrades. Nissan unveiled the third-gen EV, dropping the iconic hatch design for a stylish crossover. It now has significantly more range, and it even has an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. Here’s our first look at the new Nissan LEAF EV.

Nissan unveils the new LEAF EV

As the first mass-market EV, Nissan’s electric hatch kicked off a new era, arriving in 2010. With more advanced models now available from nearly every brand, most with more range and faster charging, the LEAF has lost some of its lust.

That’s about to change. Nissan revealed the third-generation LEAF on Wednesday, which has morphed into a “sleek and spacious family-friendly crossover.”

Underpinned by its new CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya SUV, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements” over the outgoing model. It will also be available with 19″ alloy wheels and a panoramic moonroof for the first time.

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One of the most exciting upgrades is that the new LEAF will be Nissan’s first EV with an integrated NACS port so you can charge up at Tesla Superchargers. This alone will make it more competitive in the US.

Nissan said more details will be shared mid-year. However, Nissan vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com the new LEAF is expected to have 373 miles (600 km) driving range (WLTP). It will draw power from Nissan’s new 3-in-1 EV powertrain.

The new LEAF will arrive in the US and Canada later this year, joining the Ariya electric SUV. It will be one of ten new and refreshed vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands.

Earlier this year, we got a closer look at the new Nissan LEAF testing in the US, revealing its crossover design (shown above).

In 2026, Nissan will launch the fourth-gen Rogue, the first based on its third-gen e-POWER system. Although no EV version is planned, a PHEV model will be offered.

However, a new “adventure-focused” electric SUV is in the works. It will be built at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi plant. Following that, a new luxury Infiniti electric SUV is set to arrive in 2028.

In Europe, Nissan will launch the next-gen LEAF later this year, followed by a new Micra EV city car and the Qashqai crossover. Next year, the new Nissan Juke EV will join the lineup.