Robotaxi companies refuse to say how often their AVs need remote help

Senator Ed Markey’s recent investigation into seven U.S. autonomous vehicle (AV) companies—Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox—revealed a significant lack of transparency regarding how often their robotaxis and self-driving trucks require remote assistance from human operators. Despite Markey’s detailed inquiry, which included 14 questions about the frequency of remote interventions, team sizes, locations, licensing, and security protocols, none of the companies disclosed how frequently their vehicles rely on remote help. Some, like Waymo and May Mobility, labeled this information as confidential business data, while Tesla omitted the question entirely. Waymo did acknowledge that improvements have reduced help requests but provided no concrete data and admitted to employing overseas remote operators, primarily in the Philippines. Markey’s office criticized the industry for inconsistent safety practices, varying operator qualifications, and the absence of federal standards regulating remote assistance in AV operations. The investigation highlights the growing concerns as these companies move