Tesla asked the City of Austin to withhold records related to robotaxi launch

Karoline Leonard, Austin American-Statesman
 |  Hearst – Austin Transition

Tesla is asking the city of Austin to withhold records related to its upcoming robotaxi launch.

Reuters reported that it had requested two years of communications between the electric vehicle maker and Austin officials concerning the launch of fare-collecting robotaxis in Austin sometime this year. However, Reuters has not received those records, as Austin officials have sought an opinion on the request from the Texas attorney general’s office.

David Ochsner, a public information officer for the city of Austin, confirmed to the American-Statesman that “third parties” had asked the city to withhold the records to protect “privacy and property.” Ochsner wrote in an email to the Statesman that “Tesla requested the information not be released” until the attorney general’s office rules on “its arguments.”

This comes after the Austin-based automaker asked a judge to block the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from releasing data related to crashes involving its cars with self-driving features.

Ochsner said it is “not unusual” for the city to receive such requests. In these instances, the city relies on state law, which allows governmental bodies to withhold records if “privacy or property interests may be involved” while awaiting an attorney general decision.

An attorney for Tesla wrote to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in April, objecting to the release of “confidential, proprietary, competitively sensitive commercial, and/or trade secret information” contained in the records requested by Reuters, according to the news agency. The attorney argued that the records would disclose “Tesla’s deployment procedure, process, status and strategy” and cause “irreparable harm” to the company.

Reuters requested the records shortly after CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla would roll out robotaxi services in Austin this summer.

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Tesla is testing its robotaxi, driverless Model Ys, in the Austin metro area. Musk has said testing is a month ahead of schedule. During Tesla’s April quarterly earnings call, Musk stated the company remains “laser focused” on launching fully autonomous, ride-hailing cabs in its home city by June. Reports suggest Tesla is targeting a June 12 launch, but the company has not shared details about how the robotaxis will operate in Austin or the results of testing.

Tesla will not be the first company to offer autonomous rideshare services in Texas’ capital. Waymo launched operations in partnership with Uber just before South by Southwest.

The attorney general’s office has 45 business days to determine if the city must release the records, with a decision expected this week.