Tesla's self-driving cars have been parroved in nine EU countries. Alamy Stock Photo
self-driving car
The role involves up to eight hours of driving a day to collect data.
TESLA IS RECRUITING a Dublin-based driver to help develop its self-driving vehicles as it pushes for the approval of the technology in Ireland.
The electric car company is advertising for an “AI Vehicle Operator, Self-Driving” to collect driving data and help improve its systems.
Tesla’s full self-driving (supervised) technology still requires an attentive human driver, and the company says its introduction in Ireland depends on regulatory approval.
The job advertisement says the successful applicant will help generate “critical real-world data that trains and validates Full Self-Driving systems”.
The listing describes a one-year temporary role involving six to eight hours of driving each day, collecting camera and audio data in different weather and road conditions.
Other responsibilities include writing daily driving reports, checking vehicles before shifts and reporting problems with the data collected.
The recruitment advertisement does not establish that Tesla has received approval for a public rollout in Ireland.
The company’s Irish website says full self-driving is not yet available here and that its introduction depends on development and regulatory approval.
Fully autonomous driving, where the vehicle operates without human input, is not currently permitted under Irish law, according to the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
The authority says regulations are being developed to allow specific testing on Irish roads.
Tesla said last month that it was working with Irish authorities on approval for its supervised system, without announcing a launch date.
Russell Vickers, chief executive of Future Mobility Ireland, told The Journal in May that such technology would have to be introduced on a phased basis due to infrastructural limits.
The driver assistance software lacks the ‘intuition’ that is sometimes required on country roads. It uses sensors to find the centre line and the roadside.
“At the moment, the technology is dependent on good road conditions,” Vickers said.
“It can handle the motorway network … but then if you go down a bohereen and there’s a grass patch in the middle of the road, the vehicle might struggle to understand.”
The company has been expanding the system’s availability elsewhere in Europe. In its quarterly update published this week, Tesla said it had secured approval in nine EU countries, including recent approvals in Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Model Y was Ireland’s best-selling new car in September, according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
Tesla ranked fourth among electric car brands for registrations in the first nine months of the year, while the Model Y and Model 3 were the second- and fourth-best-selling electric models respectively.
The Department of Transport and Tesla have been contacted for comment.
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