Tesla Autonomous Driving Rival Pony AI To Expand Robotaxi Fleet Into Dubai Following Agreement With Regulators

Autonomous driving company Pony AI Inc. PONY has announced it has signed an MoU with Dubai Government's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to deploy its autonomous taxi fleet in the Emirate.

What Happened: The Tesla Inc. TSLA rival shared the announcement in an official statement on Monday. The expansion comes in line with Dubai's target of transitioning 25% of the Emirate's transportation to autonomous capabilities by 2030, the statement said.

The rollout will follow a multi-phase plan, with driverless fully-autonomous robotaxis to be introduced in 2026, according to the statement. Pony AI also aims to ramp up its global robotaxi fleet to "thousands of vehicles" within the next two years, the statement shares.

“Dubai stands at the forefront of intelligent urban mobility innovation, and we are honored to collaborate with RTA on this transformative initiative." Pony AI CFO Dr. Leo Wang said in the statement.

Why It Matters: With this expansion, Pony AI's global operations now include Dubai, the U.S., South Korea, China and Luxembourg. The company has over 270 robotaxis in its fleet in China.

Pony AI has been making moves in the AV segment as the company recently announced a partnership with ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. UBER and another partnership with Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings TCEHY to collaborate on Level 4 robotaxis.

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Elsewhere, Elon Musk's Tesla has been gearing up for the launch of its robotaxi fleet in Austin next month, which Musk says would have over 10 robotaxis deployed in the first week. However, the robotaxi plans have been at the receiving end of criticism from experts.

Price Action: PONY gained 6.61% in Pre-market trading, currently trading for $18.56, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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