What Happened?
On May 13, a self-driving taxi from Pony.ai was driving in Beijing when it suddenly went off the road and into a street median.
Then, the car caught on fire 🔥
Luckily, no one was inside the car, and no one got hurt.
The company said the car noticed something wrong and tried to stop quickly.
But during that emergency stop, it drove off the road.
The fire started later while workers were checking the car.
Pony.ai thinks the fire might have happened because of old batteries in the car, but they are still investigating to find the exact cause.
On May 15, Toyota (the car company that works with Pony.ai) said they are also looking into the problem.
Pony.ai has stopped their taxi service in that part of Beijing for now and told users to make other plans.
👉What Can We Learn?
– Batteries in cars need to be checked often, especially in self-driving ones.
– Even smart cars can make mistakes during emergencies.
– When something goes wrong with a robotaxi, it’s not always clear who’s responsible – the company, the car maker, or the government?
✍️Self-driving cars are exciting, but they still need lots of testing to make sure they’re safe for everyone.
đź’ĄWhat are your thoughts about this incident?
