Autonomous Vehicles News The Robotics Media's Autonomous Vehicles category covers self-driving cars, robotaxis, autonomous trucking, delivery robots, and driverless shuttles. Coverage includes company news from developers like Waymo, Cruise, Aurora, and Zoox, plus funding rounds, regulatory decisions, safety reports, and sensor and AI technology advances. Readers also find analysis of commercial deployments, pilot programs, and industry partnerships shaping vehicle autonomy.
Zoox Grounds Atlanta Toyota Highlander Test Fleet After Toxic-Gas Symptoms — Sep 26, 2026 — Zoox has grounded its Atlanta Toyota Highlander test fleet after employees reported vomiting and lightheadedness; OSHA is investigating what looks lik...Tesla Finally Puts The Semi Into Volume Production, Nine Years Late — Sep 26, 2026 — Tesla says it will build 50,000 electric Semis a year at a new factory next to the Reno Gigafactory, kicking off customer deliveries after nine years...Aurora Aims For 20 Driverless Trucks A Week As DaaS Pivot Takes Shape — Sep 26, 2026 — CEO Chris Urmson told a Morgan Stanley conference Aurora is spinning up 20 driverless-truck deliveries a week, cutting hardware costs in half and shif...Tesla Opens Sparks Semi Factory, Names PepsiCo, DHL, Einride Customers — Sep 24, 2026 — Tesla launched its dedicated Sparks, Nevada Semi factory with 11 customer-branded trucks, naming PepsiCo, DHL, Einride, IMC Logistics and a 2,500-unit...NHTSA opens probe of Comma.ai openpilot after 5 crashes, 3 deaths — Sep 24, 2026 — The NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary evaluation of Comma.ai openpilot after five reported crashes that included two fatal in...Waymo Opens Robotaxis To Teenagers In Nashville — Sep 24, 2026 — Waymo extends its teen rider program from Phoenix to Nashville, letting parents grant 13-to-17-year-olds their own driverless accounts.Autonomous Racecars Overtake Each Other At Laguna Seca For The First Time — Sep 24, 2026 — Unimore Racing wins the Indy Autonomous Challenge at Laguna Seca as autonomous cars execute their first-ever overtakes on a road course.Waabi Drives 300 Miles Dallas To San Antonio With No Prior Route Data — Sep 23, 2026 — Waabi's AI driver ran a fully autonomous 300-mile Dallas-to-San Antonio route with zero prior simulation or route-specific training, ahead of Volvo in...Tesla Reopens Roadster Reservations At $50,000 Ahead Of October 1 Reveal — Sep 23, 2026 — Tesla is once again taking $50,000 deposits — $5,000 upfront plus a $45,000 wire within 10 days — on a car with no delivery date, promising a 620-mile...Tesla's Austin Robotaxi Fleet Crashes Back To 8 Vehicles After Cybercab Pump — Sep 23, 2026 — Tesla's active Austin robotaxi fleet fell to just 8 vehicles in the past week, after briefly spiking above 100 for the September 3 Cybercab launch eve...Dongfeng-Huawei Epicland X9 Launches Sept 24 With ADS 5, Books 20K Orders In A Day — Sep 21, 2026 — The Dongfeng-Huawei Epicland X9 launches September 24 from 299,800 yuan, ships Huawei Qiankun ADS 5 with four LiDAR units standard, and has already bo...Nio 3rd-Gen ES8 Hits 150,000 Deliveries In One Year, Sweeps China’s Premium SUV Chart — Sep 21, 2026 — Nio’s third-gen ES8 reached 150,000 cumulative deliveries on September 20, 2026, exactly one year after launch, locking in a lead in China’s 400,000-y...Volkswagen Launches ID.AURA T6, Its First LiDAR-Equipped EV, In China From 9,240 — Sep 21, 2026 — Volkswagen has launched the ID.AURA T6 in China from 129,900 yuan (~9,240), its first production EV with a 192-channel LiDAR wired to a Horizon Roboti...Hyundai Turns On AI 'Data Flywheel' To Close Waymo And Tesla Autonomy Gap — Sep 19, 2026 — Hyundai Motor Group has put its AI-powered Data Flywheel into full operation, pairing 42dot's closed-loop training pipeline with fleet data from ~7 mi...XPENG Launches G9L Flagship SUV in China With Turing Chips and 800V Platform — Sep 18, 2026 — XPENG launched its next-generation five-seat flagship SUV, the G9L, in China on September 17, 2026 from 231,800 yuan. The 800V platform, 5C charging a...Waymo Turns On Public Driverless Rides In Las Vegas, Its 15th U.S. City — Sep 17, 2026 — Waymo has begun public driverless robotaxi service on the Las Vegas Strip, opening its 15th U.S. commercial market and capping a four-city September e...Hello Robotaxi Bags ~$100M At Nearly $3B For Its HR1 Robotaxi Buildout — Sep 17, 2026 — Hello Robotaxi, the L4 JV between Hello Inc., Ant Group and CATL, has closed ~$100M at nearly $3B post-money led by Shanghai Guotou Pioneer Fund to sc...Autonomous Solutions Puts 255,000 Acres Of Florida Sugarcane On Autopilot With John Deere — Sep 16, 2026 — Utah-based Autonomous Solutions has stood up what it calls the largest autonomous vehicle fleet in the history of American sugarcane farming with U.S....Waymo opens Las Vegas robotaxi service, its 15th market — Sep 16, 2026 — Waymo has started paid rides on the Las Vegas Strip using its Zeekr-built Ojai minivans, adding Nevada's biggest city to a network that now spans 15 U...Pony.ai And GAC Unveil Gen-4 Level 4 Electric Robotruck At IAA Transportation 2026 — Sep 16, 2026 — The joint Pony.ai and GAC Commercial Vehicle Level-4 robotruck rides on the GAC T9 electric platform, cuts autonomous-driving-kit costs 70% and target...