On June 22—not tomorrow, as had been previously reported—Austinites should be able to call on self-driving Teslas for their next late-night Torchy’s Tacos run. If anything goes wrong with the Tesla Robotaxis, a remote human teleoperator should be able to step in and sort things out. But how is that supposed to work, exactly?

It’s a great question. And an unanswered one, even with the launch less than two weeks away.

That kicks off today’s edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of auto industry and technology news. Also on deck today: China’s squeeze on rare earth magnets puts the whole world on notice, and Polestar sets its sights on France. Let’s dig in. 

30%: How Do Tesla’s Robotaxi Teleoperators Work?

Photo by: Twitter

Yesterday, we got our first look at a driver-free Tesla Model Y cruising around Austin’s South Congress Avenue adorned with Cybertruck-like “Robotaxi” graphics. We know it’s out there. And we know that Tesla has been hiring remote teleoperators for some time now. The idea is fairly simple: if the autonomous cars run into problems, a remote driver can step in and take control, not unlike the drone pilots in the military.

The problem is, that’s a huge black box, as Wired reports today. The City of Austin won’t say how it works, deferring to Tesla instead. And while a normal company would probably happily be transparent about this technology to assuage any citizen or investor fears, Tesla infamously does not speak with the press or interface with the public beyond CEO Elon Musk’s X account. From that story:

Bedeviling this Robotaxi mystery is the fact that the autonomous vehicle industry hasn’t coalesced around a definition for “teleoperations.” So as Tesla watchers await the Austin service, it’s worth understanding a bit more about these teleoperations, and how they work.

[…] Remote driving has even more technical challenges. Ben Shukman should know—as an engineer at a startup called Phantom Auto that focused on remote driving, he believes he was the first to do it on public roads. The first issue is connectivity. “Your ability to drive a car without being in the car is only as stable as the internet connection that connects you to it,” he says.
 
But anyone who has called a friend on a long drive knows that networks drop in and out as you move in space. There are technical ways to knit together networks, but those aren’t foolproof. This leads to big issues with latency. So imagine the worst-case scenario: A robot car needs help navigating around an accident on a highway, a remote driver gets it moving, and then … the connection dies. 

Musk has said the Robotaxi service will only have about 10 or 12 cars operating at the outset, and in a fairly limited part of Austin. In theory, a wireless connection in that context should be fine, but that’s a lot to assume given how little we know about the technology itself. And if Tesla really wants “millions” of Robotaxis on the road by 2026, it’s probably going to need to come clean on this sooner rather than later. 

60%: China’s Rare Earth Magnets Clampdown Threatens The Auto Industry

Photo by: AdobeStock

See that silvery clump right there? That’s neodymium, and it’s one of 17 elements in the middle of the periodic table with uniquely magnetic properties that make them ideal for use in electric motors, sensors actuators, generators… basically, everything. They’re especially crucial for electric vehicle motors. And China has an iron grip on the entire supply chain around these magnets, because of course it does.

After President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China, that country restricted the export of seven other rare earths and the magnets inside them. That is now throwing the global auto industry into its third supply chain crisis of this decade, after the pandemic and the semiconductor shortage. 

Here’s an explainer from Automotive News on how electrified cars are especially impacted by those restrictions, but so is everything else:

EVs and hybrids are particularly exposed to rare-earth magnet shortages in large part because of their use in electric motors. “The main powertrain mechanism of an EV is a bunch of high-powered, high-energy magnets that move those cars,” said Dean Evans, co-founder of rare-earth recycling company Evolution Metals and Technologies, on a June 10 episode of the Daily Drive podcast.

But traditional internal combustion vehicles also have parts that contain rare earths and magnets.

Automatic transmissions, throttle bodies, alternators, sensors, seat belts, speakers, lights, power steering and cameras include rare earths and magnets, according to a May 9 letter industry groups MEMA and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation sent to Trump administration officials.

As of this writing, no trade deals with China have been reached. But the effect on new car production could be crushing: “The impact will be much larger than people are anticipating,” said Rob Sharpe, senior vice president of sales and marketing for supplier Astemo Americas, in an interview with Automotive News. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

90%: Polestar Heads To France

Photo by: Polestar

Polestar has had a rough couple of years dealing with anti-China tariffs and the limitations of having just one model for sale, the Polestar 2 sedan. Now, backup is here in the form of the Polestar 3 crossover and Polestar 4 coupe-crossover. And the company’s new CEO is leading an expansion into other places. 

First up: France. The Swedish EV performance brand, owned by Volvo’s parent Geely Group, is moving into one of Europe’s fastest-growing electric markets. It’s doing better overall on that continent and this move is expected to help boost profitability, reports Reuters:

Confronted with a cash crunch, tariff pressures, and a broad slowdown in EV demand, the company, majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding, has decided to focus its efforts more on profitable Europe.

“We are a young company, given we have had a very steady rhythm of launches and market openings, it is good too, at some point to pause for a moment, before launching again a cycle of market openings”, Stephane Le Guevel, managing director for Polestar France, said.

While the Sweden-based automaker has attempted to conquer the U.S. and Chinese markets, its premium cars have been better received in Europe, which accounts for 75% of its sales. 

The first French showroom will open in Le Mans in July and first deliveries are expected from October.

Polestar’s other two best markets in Europe are Great Britain and Sweden, according to that report. Will French EV buyers warm up to a brand that has a lot of potential, but probably hasn’t quite found its footing yet in the global electric race?

100%: What Are Your Tesla Robotaxi Predictions?

Tesla Model 3 – Robotaxi – Robovan

Photo by: Tesla

Steering wheels? So passé. At Tesla, the future is autonomous vehicles. And we’re supposed to get our first real taste of this future in Austin soon. But as we and other outlets have reported, countless questions remain about the viability, technical provenance and safety of Musk’s grand plan.

What are your predictions for Tesla’s autonomy efforts? And would you hail a ride if you could? Let us know in the comments.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com