Latest news with #Bouman
Euronews
20-06-2025
- Automotive
- Euronews
Tesla readies for possible robotaxi launch this weekend
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said public rides of his company's first robotaxi might be available as early as June 22 in the city of Austin, Texas. Musk said on his social media platformX that the date could shift because the company is 'being super paranoid about safety.' Some X users reported that they were invited to be some of the first to use the robotaxi on its launch this weekend. The Cybercab, the name for Tesla's robotaxi, had also been spotted near Austin, Texas, earlier this month. Euronews Next has reached out to Tesla to confirm whether the launch is still happening but did not receive a response at the time of publication. The launch could come despite a group of Democratic Texas lawmakers asking Tesla to delay the robotaxi debut 'in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla's operations'. Is the Cybercab ready? Crijn Bouman, CEO of Rocsys, a company that develops service infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, told Euronews Next that Tesla's potential launch is important because it 'will emphasise that the robotaxi is real.' 'It will come with the realisation that… autonomous driving just works,' he said. 'It's difficult to say whether [Tesla is] ready or not, but everybody's excited and for sure everyone will be watching'. For Tesla's launch to be successful, Bouman said the company will have to have not only the robotaxi ready but also all of the infrastructure around it. That means scaling up to '1000' vehicles, a 'couple dozen' service hubs to clean and charge the cars and finding regular maintenance services for them, he added. The company, which used to 'control the narrative' on autonomous vehicles, is now facing competition from Waymo, the first company in North America to scale up a robotaxi business, Bouman said. 'If the whole operation isn't included, they won't be close to Waymo at all,' he said, noting that Waymo Rideshare sends a safe, clean robotaxi to a pickup location in five minutes. 'We likely won't see that on [Sunday]'. Might not be enough to 'turn the tide' of public opinion The Cybercab's potential launch comes at a difficult time for Tesla as stocks have plummeted over the last six months withfactories and Cybertrucks being vandalised. Tesla is also facing an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US after the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system was allegedly involved in multiple crashes, including one where a pedestrian was killed. Bouman doesn't believe that an eventual robotaxi launch will 'turn the tide' of public opinion towards Tesla unless the company starts to be more transparent. 'You have to show that the service is actually working at scale… normally the bar is that a robotaxi has to be ten times more safe than a human driver to gain the trust of the public,' he said. '[Tesla] has to show that [with] … a third party analysis on the data'.
CBC
16-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Does Nova Scotia's hiked deed transfer tax help or hurt housing?
There's disagreement in the Strait of Canso area over whether a recent increase in Nova Scotia's deed transfer tax for non-resident landowners will help or hurt local housing efforts. The tax, which doubled to 10 per cent from five per cent on April 1, now applies to all residential properties with three dwellings or less, including vacant land that is considered to be residential. The move drew fire from the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors and last week sparked Richmond County council to approach the province and the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities with concerns that the increase could hamper the Strait-area housing market. However, not all Richmond councillors agree on the issue, and a local land developer who sells to Canadians and Europeans alike feels the tax hike could halt bidding wars that have clogged the housing market since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. Land developer praises province's 'genius move' When the tax increase was introduced as part of the government's Financial Measures Act, Finance Minister John Lohr described the move as a means of helping Nova Scotians compete with out-of-province buyers for new homes. Rolf Bouman, the founder of the property sales firm Canadian Pioneer Estates, agrees with the concept, although he acknowledges those directly involved in house sales rather than land transfers would have an opposing view. "As a land developer, it's pretty good because people will then decide to build houses and it gives a lot of employment," said Bouman, whose company is based in Aulds Cove, N.S. "But as a broker, I probably wouldn't like it, because the broker has the job to get the highest price for the vendor or seller for a house. And, of course, when you exclude people from outside of the province, or you make it harder for them to, in fact, purchase land, that might hurt the bottom line for the seller of the house, as well as the broker for their commission." However, Bouman sees a net benefit from the province's strategy in that it could cool off bidding wars between residents and non-residents. "This was a genius move on the part of the province, or the premier, or whoever came up with the idea," Bouman said. "I would have set the tax even higher. But for now, it's good where it's at." Richmond County calling for changes Meanwhile, Richmond County officials feel the province isn't considering how the tax hike could impact the local housing market. They're also concerned the increase is punitive to former Nova Scotians trying to return home and contribute to the communities they once left behind. "We've got local people who are flagging these concerns and asking for some reconsideration on some of the terms of it," said St. Peter's-area councillor Amanda Mombourquette, who brought the issue to the council table earlier this month. "Businesses and investors, they like certainty. So when we have changes like this that are really disruptive to business models that have been in place for some time, it can create some concern and discourage investment." Warden Lois Landry, who said at the previous council meeting that "there are some advantages to this tax," is hopeful the county and the province can work together to recognize anyone who could be impacted by the recent increase. "We have had some concerns from residents about property values increasing in their assessment, and what that does to the property tax that you're required to pay," Landry said. The county will vote on its next steps regarding the tax at its monthly meeting next week in Arichat.
