New XPENG Robotaxi: KITT Or My Mother The Car … Or Both!

This is a car-industry story, not a home-energy one, but here is what happened. Chinese automaker XPENG has started employee testing of a new self-driving robotaxi built on its GX platform, using four in-house computer chips and no reliance on lidar or detailed street maps. The company's CEO took a full automated ride, from ordering the trip to arrival, as part of the test. XPENG plans a public demonstration in Guangzhou later this year, with possible partnerships in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Rather than running its own taxi service, XPENG wants to supply its self-driving technology to other robotaxi fleets around the world.

In the US, federal safety regulators sent a letter to self-driving car makers on July 8, warning that some autonomous vehicles have driven into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and fire trucks, or failed to react to flashing lights, flares, smoke, or traffic cones. More meetings on the issue are expected later this month. Meanwhile, Tesla's robotaxis keep expanding into new US cities, with Miami the latest. A bill in the New Jersey state Senate would set up a three-year pilot program for testing self-driving cars and trucks, let regulators halt any vehicle found to pose a safety risk, and require backup sensors like radar or lidar in addition to cameras, a rule that could effectively block Tesla's camera-only robotaxis from state highways if it becomes law.

None of this affects home energy upgrades or rebates directly, but it shows self-driving cars and their regulation are still very much in flux.