While New York State and New York City require special permits for testing autonomous vehicles (AVs), Tesla avoids triggering these rules by marketing Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) as a “driver-assist” technology, rather than a fully autonomous system, according to AutoMarketplace. In practice, the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) does not screen vehicles for advanced driver-assist features during licensing or inspection. There is no current system in place to track how many TLC-plated Teslas in NYC have FSD enabled – nor are drivers routinely instructed that their use is prohibited. This enforcement blind spot leaves thousands of for-hire drivers, passengers and the general public exposed to beta-level self-driving technology without informed consent.
AutoMarketplace recently called for an immediate audit of the 6,000+ Teslas in the NYC TLC fleet – roughly 5% of all TLC vehicles and nearly 50% of the EV fleet – to determine how many are equipped with FSD.
The audit can be conducted various ways:
- Tesla VIN-based lookups to verify FSD software purchase or activation
- In-person inspections at TLC facilities
- Insurer disclosures of any Teslas known to be equipped with FSD or Autopilot
- Mandatory driver disclosures, under penalty of license suspension
In addition, regulators must explicitly inform drivers that the use of FSD and Autopilot is not permitted in any and all NYC for-hire transport work, noted AutoMarketplace. “Regulators must act now – before a New York City driver, passenger or member of the public gets hurt.”
Source: AutoMarketplace
