{
  "id": 11733545,
  "title": "Elon Musk says Tesla is trying to prevent robotaxis from running over cats at night",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/elon-musk-says-tesla-is-trying-to-prevent-robotaxis-from-running-over",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-03T17:35:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-trying-to-stop-robotaxis-from-hitting-cats-2026-10"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed that the company is working to prevent its robotaxis from accidentally running over cats at night. Musk noted that gray cats on dark roads pose a particular challenge for the self-driving vehicles. A Waymo robotaxi hit and killed a cat at night last year, highlighting the risks these vehicles face in low visibility conditions. Tesla's robotaxis, which use camera vision and sensors to navigate, have faced difficulties in accurately identifying pets on the road at night. The company has been trying to improve nighttime visibility through the use of AI-assisted camera processing. Musk also acknowledged that other challenges, such as the unpredictable movements of animals, contribute to the difficulties in deploying self-driving cars.",
  "summary": "Tesla's self-driving cabs use cameras to detect cats and other hazards on the streets.",
  "key_points": [
    "Tesla aims to prevent robotaxis from running over cats at night.",
    "Gray cats on dark roads pose a particular challenge for self-driving vehicles.",
    "Tesla is improving nighttime visibility using AI-assisted camera processing."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}