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Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ is now blatantly operated by human drivers as the automaker launches a ride-hailing service in the Bay Area through its ‘Robotaxi’ app.

When Tesla launched its ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, we noted how it was just for optics and the fact that it still uses “safety monitor” in the front passenger seats makes it a “supervised” system and therefore, not a level 4 autonomous driving system.

It’s basically Tesla’s consumer ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ (FSD), but with the supervisor moved from the driver’s seat to the front passenger seat.

The reason Tesla was able to do that is that Texas law allows it, and it looks better for them than having a driver in the driver’s seat. Instead, the “safety monitor” has access to a kill switch that can stop the car, something Tesla is not publicizing.

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Over the last few weeks, Tesla has been teasing the expansion of its Robotaxi in California despite not having secured any of the permits required for an automated driving system in the state.

Now, Tesla has expanded its service area in the “Robotaxi” app to the Bay Area, but even though it’s in the “Robotaxi” app, it is only calling it a “ride-hailing service” because there’s a driver in the driver’s seat of each car:

Tesla fans have applauded the automaker for covering such a large part of the Bay Area, bigger than Waymo’s coverage of the region, but to be clear, Tesla’s service right now is not comparable to Waymo’s in the Bay Area. It’s only equivalent to Uber.

In fact, it’s the exact same service as an Uber driver who owns a Tesla with Supervised FSD in the Bay Area.

Politico reported that Tesla still hasn’t applied for any of the required permits to operate autonomous vehicles in California, despite CEO Elon Musk claiming just last week that Tesla was waiting for regulators.

Documents from the California DMV and Public Utilities Commission revealed that the state agencies were concerned by comments from Tesla employees regarding the automaker’s imminent launch of its Robotaxi service in the state, despite not having obtained any authorization.

Tesla’s regulatory counsel quickly intervened to explain to the state that there’s no such plan and Tesla only plans to launch a ride-hailing service for “employees, friends and family, and select members of the public”, which is apparently what was launched today.

The automaker is not looking for “vehicle operators” in 9 other US cities to launch the same ride-hailing service, which it operates under its ‘Robotaxi’ app.

Electrek’s Take

This is so blatantly misleading. Tesla is trying to make the public think it is a leader in autonomous driving by launching its ‘Robotaxi’ service in cities while being powered by human drivers.

It’s FSD in consumer vehicles. That’s all it is, and we know that it gets about 500 miles between critical disengagement, based on the best crowdsourced data.

By not applying for an autonomous driving permit, Tesla is making sure that it doesn’t have to report any data to the state.

Why doesn’t Tesla want to do that? The only thing that makes sense is that it is not ready for it, and the data wouldn’t look good.

This is all for show because Waymo is starting to rapidly expand and making Elon Musk look bad after he has been claiming for years that Tesla is the leader in autonomous driving with no close second.

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Wheel-E Podcast: ’70 MPH e-bikes’, Vietnam bans gasoline bikes, more

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Wheel-E Podcast: '70 MPH e-bikes', Vietnam bans gasoline bikes, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes “70 MPH e-bikes” prompting new law changes, recalled Amazon/Walmart e-bikes, Vietnam banning gasoline-powered motorcycles, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 8:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 9:00 a.m. ET):

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Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

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Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

Exxon earnings beat estimates as production growth softens impact of lower oil prices

Exxon Mobil reported second-quarter earnings on Friday that declined significantly compared to last year, though the company beat Wall Street estimates as production growth in the Permian Basin and Guyana softened the impact of lower oil prices.

Exxon’s net income fell 23% to $7.1 billion, or $1.64 per share, compared to $9.2 billion, or $2.14 per share, in the same period last year.

Here is what Exxon reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.64 vs. $1.54 expected
  • Revenue: $81.5 billion vs. $80.77 billion expected

The oil major pumped 4.6 million barrels per day, the highest output for the second quarter since Exxon and Mobil merged more than 25 years ago. Production in the Permian hit a record 1.6 million bpd.

Exxon’s production business posted a profit of $5.4 billion, down 23% from about $7.1 billion in the same period last year on lower oil prices. Its refining business booked earnings of $1.37 billion globally, up 44% compared to $946 million in the year-ago period due to higher refining margins.

Exxon paid out $9.2 billion to shareholders, including more than $4 billion in dividends and $5 billion in share repurchases. The oil major said it’s on pace to purchase $20 billion of shares this year.

Exxon has slashed its costs by $1.4 billion so far this year and $13.5 billion since 2019. It is aiming to cut another $4.5 billion through the end of 2030.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

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Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

Chevron profit hit by low crude oil prices and loss from Hess acquisition

Chevron on Friday reported second-quarter earnings that took a substantial hit due to low oil prices and a loss on its acquisition of Hess Corporation.

The oil major’s net income declined about 44% to $2.49 billion, or $1.45 per share, from $4.43 billion, or $2.43 per share, in the same period last year.

Chevron booked a $215 million loss on the fair value measurement of Hess shares. When adjusted for that charge and other one-time items, Chevron earned $1.77 per share to beat Wall Street estimates.

Here is what Chevron reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.77 adjusted vs. $1.70 expected
  • Revenue: $44.82 billion vs. $43.82 billion expected

Chevron completed its acquisition of Hess on July 18, after prevailing against Exxon Mobil in a long-running dispute that threatened to blow up the $53 billion deal. An arbitration court rejected Exxon’s claim to a right of first refusal over lucrative Hess assets in Guyana, clearing the way for Chevron to complete the transaction after a long delay.

Chevron expects the deal to begin adding to earnings in the fourth quarter. It also hopes to reduce annual run-rate costs by $1 billion by the end of 2025.

Chevron pumped a record 3.4 million barrels per day worldwide for the quarter, a 3% increase over the same period last year. U.S. production jumped about 8% to 1.69 million bpd compared to the year-ago period, with production in the Permian Basin hitting 1 million bpd. The Hess acquisition will add assets in the Bakken formation and Gulf of Mexico in addition to Guyana.

Chevron’s production business posted a profit of $2.72 billion, down 38% from $4.47 billion in the same period last year due to lower oil prices. Its refining business booked earnings of $737 million, up 23% from $597 million last year on higher margins for product sales.

Chevron paid out $5.5 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including $2.6 billion in share buybacks and $2.9 billion in dividends.

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