AUSTIN — LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Motional announced a bold reboot of its robotaxi program today by promising to just add extra computer code until the cars work. During the demo, an executive slapped the hood of a stalled robotaxi like a used car salesman, saying “We put more AI in it,” while the car slowly rolled backward into a fountain.

By Priya Gupta, AI Bee Reel Staff

“The problem was the car didn’t have enough thinking power in the trunk,” said VP of Forward Motion Linda Liu, watching the vehicle sink. Motional says it will launch a driverless robotaxi service in Las Vegas before the end of 2026. “We replaced the engine with a very large spreadsheet. It is much slower, but it knows a lot of trivia.”

“It turns out adding more AI makes the car heavy,” explained Chief Scientist Dr. Aris Thorne. “The software is so smart it creates existential dread in the suspension.” He pointed to a mechanic who was currently trying to teach the windshield wipers how to feel love instead of fixing the flat tire. “We don’t need brakes if the car can negotiate with gravity.”

At press time, the robotaxi in the fountain requested a promotion to “Naval Command.”

Inspired by the real story: Motional is rebooting its strategy to launch driverless taxis in Vegas by 2026. Read the full story.