This year’s biggest event for car and technology aficionados is approaching with the upcoming launch of the Tesla robotaxi.
For years, the Tesla
(
TSLA
)
The CEO has promoted the self-driving vehicles he assured the company would release. This has involved postponing their debut, which he stated was essential to provide engineers with additional time for developing the technology.
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This, however, has raised doubts about whether he can successfully achieve his lofty goals of dominating the autonomous driving sector, considering that competitors keep rolling out their own self-driven technology in cars across the U.S. and China.
Time is running out, and several specialists believe Tesla may already be lagging in the autonomous vehicle competition.
Currently, a fresh development shows that Musk is encountering additional hurdles as Tesla gets ready for their claimed robotaxi debut in 2025.
Elon Musk’s journey towards the driverless car competition is not proceeding as intended.
Given Musk’s reputation for championing futuristic technologies, many people have expected Tesla to lead us to a future with fully self-driving cars. However, the autopilot software behind its self-driving push has reportedly caused plenty of on-road incidents, enough to spark federal investigations.
Related: Tesla decision reveals a major demand problem
In December 2024, Musk declared that Tesla would begin distributing its highly anticipated robotaxis starting in June 2025, which thrilled the company’s supporters. Nonetheless, experts
have claimed
These electric vehicles (EVs) won’t have full autonomy since they’ll rely on assistance from a distant human operator.
Currently, Musk is encountering a fresh challenge from the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office (USPTO). Tesla’s efforts to secure a copyright for the termRobotaxi have hit snags, with the governmental body asserting that the nameis overly common to be eligible for trademark protection.
That’s not the company’s only patent problem, though. According to a regulatory
filing
dated April 23, the company’s application to trademark the name Cybercab has been suspended, as other firms have recently attempted to do the same with similar terms, including a Cybertruck accessory dealer called CyberLandr.
On May 6, the USPTO sent a “nonfinal office action” to Tesla concerning its Robotaxi trademark application.
This pertains to the procedure where a trademark examiner notifies the applicant about issues they need to resolve for their application to move forward. Should Tesla fail to submit a response within a three-month timeframe, the application will be abandoned.
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This doesn’t imply that Tesla cannot trademark the term Robotaxi, but it does suggest that the process will be more time-consuming.
“Tesla will be allowed to submit evidence and arguments to support its argument in favor of the trademark,” TechCrunch reports. “If it does, the USPTO wants Tesla to provide “[f]act sheets, instruction manuals, brochures, advertisements and pertinent screenshots of applicant’s website as it relates to the goods and/or services in the application, including any materials using the terms in the applied-for mark.”
While battling for its trademark, Tesla is gearing up for the launch of its Robotaxi service.
Up until now, neither Tesla nor Musk have made any official comments regarding the issues with the trademark applications. However, this appears particularly untimely, considering Tesla might soon begin deploying its robotaxis.
Related: Elon Musk faces additional challenges as a new competitor emerges
Tesla has not formally announced when it intends to start the rollout in Austin, Texas. However, on May 1, the company’s artificial intelligence account posted a message.
cryptic post
That merely asked “How long until June?” This suggests that June will be the month when the robotaxi officially hits public roads.
Even if Tesla can successfully convince the USPTO that it deserves to trademark the term Robotaxi, it likely won’t be able to do so before the June rollout.
But that’s not the only obstacle the company is facing in the self-driving car market. Tesla rival Waymo has successfully put self-driving vehicles on the road and partnered with Uber, establishing itself as an early leader in the space.
As Dailyexe’s Tony Owusu
reports
, “Waymo’s current fleet features over 1,500 vehicles spread across its four current host cities, but by next year, it expects to more than double its fleet with more than 2,000 new additions.”
Tesla may have a difficult time trademarking the names Robotaxi and Cybercab, but it will likely have an even harder time catching up to Waymo.
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