Operations
Safety and operations
The operator does not drive the vehicle. It is responsible for the vehicle being fit to be driven.
Maintenance posture
Vehicles follow the manufacturer's scheduled maintenance intervals, with tires, brakes, suspension, glass and sensor surfaces inspected on a fixed cadence rather than on failure. A vehicle that fails inspection is removed from service until it is repaired.
Cleaning and readiness
Interior condition is a safety and revenue issue at once. Vehicles are cleaned on a defined cycle and after any reported incident, and are checked for obstruction of cameras and sensors before returning to service.
Incident response
Federal. NHTSA's Standing General Order 2021-01, as amended for the third time effective 16 June 2025, requires identified manufacturers and operators of vehicles with automated driving systems to report crashes: within five calendar days where there is a fatality, hospital treatment or a struck vulnerable road user, and by the 15th of the following month for lesser crashes involving more than $1,000 of property damage. Tesla, as manufacturer, is a reporting entity. Whether this fleet is separately bound depends on whether NHTSA identifies it as an operator under the order; that is a question for counsel before launch, and this page does not assume the answer.
Kentucky. Under the 2024 Act, the owner of a fully autonomous vehicle is responsible for notifying law enforcement of any crash involving injury or a vehicle rendered inoperable, and for filing a Kentucky State Police report within ten days of any crash with over $500 of property damage that police did not investigate (KRS 189.635 as amended, §11). A law-enforcement interaction plan must be on file with the Transportation Cabinet and State Police before driverless operation (§2(3)).
Insurance — statutory floor. Kentucky requires a fully autonomous vehicle operating as a motor carrier to carry $1,000,000 for death or injury per accident and $1,000,000 for property damage (2024 Acts Ch. 176 §15(13)). That is the legal minimum, not the coverage this fleet will carry.
[[VERIFY: Actual insurance coverage structure and limits for this fleet, above the Kentucky statutory floor, confirmed with the broker before publication.]]