Tesla Says It’s Building a Wheelchair-Accessible Robotaxi

https://media.wired.com/photos/6a5505208102c30651422b27/191:100/w_1280,c_limit/GettyImages-2259673201.jpg

Tesla is building a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle, a Tesla representative told lawmakers in Washington, DC, on Monday.

“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle,” Tesla senior policy advisor India Herdman told members of the DC City Council on Monday, during a hearing focused on a controversial bill that could allow robotaxi services to operate in the District. “We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas,” she said.

Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment. Herdman provided no further details about when a wheelchair-accessible product might be available. The electric automaker often takes several years to manufacture its announced products.

Tesla operates a small fleet of autonomous vehiclesin the Texas cities of Austin, Dallas, and Houston and,...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to wired.com. To see the full text click HERE

Read more