Technology

The super simple gadget trying to replace your phone

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2024

The super simple gadget trying to replace your phone

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing, reading, downloading, buying, or bedazzling this week? What are you into that everyone else should be into? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

The Light Phone 3. The new version of one of the best minimalist phones comes with a better screen, a camera, an NFC chip, and some big ambitions about replacing your phone. I don’t think I’m physically capable of ditching my smartphone, but I want this thing so badly.
Apple Passwords. We’ll talk a lot more about all of Apple’s WWDC announcements as they start to roll out, but this one’s worth thinking about now: Apple’s cross-platform, presumably well-integrated passwords app looks really good. Might be time to start compiling all your passwords and passkeys.
Moonbound. Robin Sloan is one of my favorite writers on the internet, and both of his previous books were excellent. This one, a deeply meta science fiction epic, seems to be the weirdest one yet — and I mean that in a good way.
How Music Got Free. For people of a certain age, this Paramount Plus doc is going to feel like reliving some formative years — remember Napster and Kazaa and LimeWire and the way the internet completely broke the music industry? So many fun stories in this one.
House of the Dragon season 2. I confess I didn’t really get into House of the Dragon last season, but so many people have told me they’re excited about the new one starting this weekend that I feel like I have to catch up to be ready. Feels like everyone’s going to be talking about this on Monday.
“I installed Android on Rabbit R1 & Made it Useful.” The top comment on this video just says, “They accidentally made a great dumbphone.” It’s kind of true! The R1 is a fun gizmo running crappy software; as a tiny Android tablet, I confess I kind of love it again. I even got mine out of the drawer to try this for myself.
Yahoo News. Yahoo bought and shut down Artifact earlier this year. That was sad. This is better: some of that recommendation tech is back in the new Yahoo News, which has lots of personalization and streaks and badging and all kinds of good stuff. I’m using Yahoo again! Who woulda thunk!
“Inside Disney’s ‘Area 51,’ Where Lightsabers and Other Tech Are Invented.” Lanny Smoot seems like an extremely cool person with an extremely cool job, and this video does a great job of showing all the wild, futuristic stuff he and Disney are working on for the company’s theme parks and other products. Give me that omnidirectional treadmill now.
Fantasmas. This is a week old, but like 100 of you recommended it this week, so I’m making an exception. (Thanks to everyone who told me about it!) It’s a really unusually structured show, and you definitely can’t half-watch this one, but I’m digging it so far.

Screen share

Andrew Liszewski has long been one of my favorite bloggers on the internet. He spent years at Gizmodo writing about the weirdest, funniest, silliest, coolest stuff on the web, and I’ve definitely spent thousands of dollars on stuff just because he wrote about it.

Now, Andrew works for The Verge! This was his first week, and he’s already in Slack causing chaos. It’s the best. I asked him to share his homescreen with us to see if I could get any tips on how he scours the web. He didn’t reveal all his secrets, but I do know more about the weather in Canada now, so that’s something.

Here’s Andrew’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 12 Pro (with a battery that’s feeling its age).

The wallpaper: I like a very minimalist wallpaper under my apps, but because I find solid black makes the screen too reflective, I created a custom subtle blue gradient I’ve been using for the past five years. (For my lock screen, I’m using one of Mikael Gustafsson’s dreamy nature scenes.)

The apps: Google Calendar, Clock, Photos, Camera, Google Home, Google Photos, Find My, Instagram, Google Maps, WeatherCAN, Nest, Google Chat, Settings, Watch, Chrome, Apple Books, 1Password, App Store, Apple Notes, Phone, Gmail, Messages, Apple Photos.

My iPhone’s main homescreen is where all my daily driver apps live. This includes Instagram, Google Home, the aging Nest app (which includes functionality for my Nest thermostat I can’t find elsewhere), Chrome, 1Password (which all but solved my password anxiety once I finally switched over), IMDb, Paprika 3, countless smart home remotes, and most importantly, the Environment Canada weather app so I know when to get the grass cut before it rains. I’m obsessive about clearing notifications on my primary homescreen but am happy for them to pile up on the second screen, where I like to keep all other installed apps accessible.

I also asked Andrew to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:

I’m a big fan of retro gaming and recently added the tiny Anbernic RG28XX to my ever-growing collection of handheld emulators. The Game Boy Micro remains one of my favorite handhelds of all time, but with the RG28XX, I can leave all the cartridges at home.
Our house is mildly obsessed with the reality series Alone, and we’re quite excited to dive into the season 11 premiere this week.
I just finished reading Bill Hammack’s (also known as the “Engineer Guy” on YouTube) book, The Things We Make, which includes fascinating deep dives into the engineering of everything from medieval cathedrals to how the microwave was invented.
When I’m struggling to fall asleep, nothing calms my brain faster than the Joe DIY Instagram account, which features videos of detailed restorations of classic die-cast toys. Give it a shot. Watching a rusted dump truck turn back into a bright yellow Tonka toy is immensely satisfying.

Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For more recommendations than I could fit here, check out the replies to this post on Threads.

“I just recently came across this Australian company called Juicy Crumb that specializes in creating custom motherboard replacements for old iMacs, which lets people easily repurpose them as monitors. And they made one for the iMac G4! Believe me when I tell you I’ve never hit a ‘buy’ button so quickly (lol). Anyway, I ordered one a few months back and recently swapped it into my 20-inch G4, and it worked like a charm! I plugged it into a M1 Mac Mini I had, and now I’m using an iMac G4 like it’s 2004 again.” – Ryan

“I LOVE the Surface kickstand, enjoy typing onscreen (have done it for 14 years, tbf), and hate cases on my Apple devices. I’m obsessed with this magnet-back cover with a kickstand for my iPad. Could only source it from Amazon Germany, but they shipped to New Zealand for free. Wicked result.” – Brendon

“Your mention of Inbox Ten makes me think you’d appreciate Tony Hsieh’s Yesterbox method, which I’ve used successfully for years!” – Deb

“I’ve been loving journaling in Diarium, especially since it’s completely private and local. If you want to sync between devices, you can use a cloud sync of your choosing — it can even read-only sync with apps like Fitbit, Instagram, Strava, etc. to add everything you’ve done in the day into your journal entry.” – Michael

“I recently subscribed to Scott Belsky’s Implications newsletter, and I’m convinced everyone who is interested in the future of tech and culture should, too.” – Ricky

“I just discovered the app Crouton for recipe collection, and it’s by far the best at scrubbing a URL for the actual recipe. You can even take a photo of a cookbook page, and it’ll generate the recipe. Probably the best example of a real-world use for AI I’ve encountered yet.” – JT

“I’m enjoying the new MLB Morning Lineup podcast. Each episode is 10 minutes or less, and it recaps the previous day’s box scores and news. It’s been a very nice way to catch up on the best sport.” – Mario

“Been trying out Star Wars: Hunters on iOS after it finally launched. It’s a PVP arena combat game, and I’m loving it so far. The hunters are all unique and fun, it’s not too heavy on the pay-to-play stuff, and it’s remarkably good for a quick game. It’s not perfect (the UI is atrocious), but it’s a good start.” – Matt

“Puzzmo just added a new game to their catalog, Pile-Up Poker, and it is stellar.” – Luke

“My friends introduced me to this Call of Duty-like shooter that’s apparently very popular in India. It’s called Free Fire Max. The reason for its popularity is its ability to run on any device.

You should give it a try. The graphics are mediocre, but the experience is great.” – Rudrajit

Signing off

I posted on Threads a few days ago that my number one productivity hack is to take a 25-minute nap in the middle of the day. This made a lot of people have feelings and ask questions, even though I’m totally right. (It’s just science. I don’t make the rules.) But for all the people who asked for tips, here are mine.

The perfect 25-minute nap involves three things. First, realizing that even if you don’t sleep, lying there with your eyes closed for 25 minutes is still very restful; not stressing about sleeping makes it easier to sleep. Second, an episode of a TV show I’ve seen before (I do a lot of Parks and Recreation) can make it easier to quiet my brain and fall asleep. Third, I put on my smartwatch and set an alarm there; waking up from a wrist buzz is infinitely better than a blaring sound. Naps are great, naps forever, happy napping, everybody.

Technology

Get a $30 credit when you reserve Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy phones

Published

2 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Get a credit when you reserve Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy phones

Even though they haven’t been officially announced yet, Samsung is giving you a chance to save some cash when you preorder what we’re expecting to be the brand’s updated Galaxy Z Fold phones. The next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place on July 22nd, 2026, and features the tagline “A new shape unfolds.” In addition to seeing updated versions of the existing Flip and Fold form factors, we anticipate the debut of a new, wider foldable phone. If you register your interest ahead of time and end up preordering one of the new phones shortly after they’re announced, Samsung will give you a $30 store credit at checkout.

There are some caveats to this offer. You have to use the credit when you preorder the phone. No saving it for later. Also, the credit can’t be applied to the cost of the phone either, so you’ll have to put it towards the cost of accessories or extra services. Samsung specifically calls out that select Galaxy rings, earbuds, watches, and tablets are eligible, or you can use it to help pay for Samsung Care Plus.

There are no downsides to registering your interest, so if you think you might be interested in buying one of the upcoming phones, it’s worth filling out the form. As long as you use the same email during checkout, the credit will be automatically applied.

Technology

Apple AI security update proves hackers move fast

Published

3 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Apple AI security update proves hackers move fast

Anthropic’s new AI model raises alarms over safety, cybersecurity concerns

Matt Shumer, co-founder and CEO of OthersideAI, details Anthropic’s new AI model, Mythos, on ‘The Sunday Briefing’. The model’s “emergent capabilities” to find software vulnerabilities autonomously raised alarms, prompting Anthropic to restrict public access. Shumer explains the proactive move of granting major companies and the US government early access to Mythos for cyber defense, anticipating future threats to critical infrastructure and national security.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A security update rarely feels dramatic. You see the alert, promise yourself you will install it later and then go right back to whatever you were doing. This time, Apple is giving you a stronger reason to pay attention.

Apple released iOS 26.5.2, iPadOS 26.5.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 on June 29, 2026. The updates include security fixes for vulnerabilities tied to the kernel, WebKit and WebRTC. Apple says these fixes were first made available through the iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6 and macOS Tahoe 26.6 betas before being pushed out early to everyone.

That is the part that should make you pause. Apple usually rolls many security fixes into larger software updates. This time, the company moved faster.

AI IS NOW POWERING CYBERATTACKS, MICROSOFT WARNS

Apple pushed out security fixes early because AI can help hackers study software flaws faster. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Why Apple released this AI security update early

Apple reportedly accelerated the updates because artificial intelligence can help speed the creation of malicious hacking tools. Once a fix appears in a beta, attackers may be able to study it, reverse-engineer the weakness and move faster than before.

Apple said there was no evidence that the newly patched vulnerabilities had been exploited. Still, the company wanted to shrink the time between when fixes were first visible and when they reached your devices.

That is a major shift. It suggests Apple sees AI as a force that changes the timing of security. A flaw that once gave defenders more breathing room may now become a race.

What Apple fixed in iOS 26.5.2

Apple’s iOS 26.5.2 and iPadOS 26.5.2 notes list fixes for iPhone 11 and later, along with several supported iPad models. The security content includes kernel vulnerabilities that could let an app crash the system, corrupt kernel memory or leak sensitive kernel state.

The update also fixes multiple WebKit issues. WebKit powers Safari and web content inside many apps. Some of these flaws involved malicious web content that could lead to crashes, memory corruption, data leaks or sandbox escapes.

Apple also fixed WebRTC issues that could be triggered by malicious web content and lead to Safari or process crashes.

For Mac, Apple lists macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 as the current release. If your Mac runs macOS Sonoma or macOS Sequoia, Apple also lists Safari 26.5.2 as a June 29, 2026, security release.

A woman uses a smartphone outside an Apple Store on June 20, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. (Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

Why AI hacking tools change the security race

AI can help legitimate researchers find bugs faster. That is good when the work leads to stronger software and responsible disclosure. However, the same general capability can also help bad actors move faster. A criminal does not need to understand every line of code if an AI tool can help summarize a patch, compare software changes or suggest where a weakness may be hiding.

That is why Apple’s move is important. It shows that big tech companies may need to release security fixes sooner and more often, even when those updates do not include flashy new features. The wider AI world adds pressure here. Frontier AI companies have released or tested systems with stronger coding and cybersecurity capabilities. Some models are available only through limited previews, approved access or extra safeguards because of their potential cyber use.

Similar efforts are also emerging outside the United States. Several international AI labs and security companies now promote models designed to find vulnerabilities, analyze code and assist cyber defense. The takeaway for you isn’t that AI is automatically bad. The real point is speed. Security teams, attackers and AI tools are now moving on a shorter clock.

How to update your iPhone or iPad

Before you update, plug in your device and connect to Wi-Fi. You may also want to back up your iPhone or iPad first.

Then do this: Open Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install.

After the update finishes, go back to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates. Make sure automatic updates are turned on. Apple also lets your device automatically install system file updates that improve security without changing the full software version. If you do not see the update right away, check again later. Apple releases updates in stages, and your device also needs enough battery and storage.

How to update your Mac

On a Mac, start with a backup. Then click the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Software Update . Choose Update Now if macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 appears.

Next, check your background update settings. On macOS Tahoe 26 or later, go to Apple menu > System Settings > General > Software Update . Click the More Info button next to Automatic Updates and make sure Install system data files and security updates is turned on.

If your Mac runs Sonoma or Sequoia, look for Safari 26.5.2 in Software Update as well. That Safari update may be the protection your Mac needs if you are not on Tahoe.

BEWARE OF HACKERS SHOWING UP PRETENDING TO BE IT

What this Apple security update means to you

You may see more security updates that feel sudden or small. That can be annoying, especially when you are busy or your device needs to restart.

Still, these updates are becoming more important. Apple is reacting to a world where AI can help shorten the time between a public fix and a possible attack.

So, when your iPhone, iPad or Mac asks you to update, do not treat it like background noise. The update may be closing a door someone else is already trying to find.

Updating your iPhone, iPad and Mac helps close security holes before attackers get more time to exploit them. (Katharina Kausche/picture alliance via Getty Images)

How to stay safe after the Apple security update

Installing the Apple AI security update is the best first move. After that, tighten a few habits that make attacks harder.

1) Keep your apps updated

Your operating system is only part of the security picture. Outdated apps can still create risk, especially if they handle messages, web links, photos, files or account logins. Open the App Store and install available updates regularly.

2) Watch out for suspicious links

Be careful with links in texts, emails and social media messages. WebKit and browser flaws are a reminder that malicious web content can be part of an attack. When in doubt, open the official app or website yourself instead of tapping a link.

3) Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication

Use strong, unique passwords for every account and store them in a password manager. Then turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. If one password gets exposed, you do not want it opening the door to your email, bank or Apple account.

4) Use strong antivirus protection

Use strong antivirus protection on your Mac and other connected devices. It can help catch malicious files, phishing attempts and suspicious activity before they do damage. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com.

5) Back up your data regularly

Back up your iPhone, iPad and Mac before problems hit. A recent backup can help you recover faster if an update fails, your device gets stolen or malware locks you out of important files. CyberGuy’s guide to backing up your devices walks you through ways to protect your files using cloud storage, an external drive or both.

6) Use a personal data removal service

Use a personal data removal service to reduce how much of your personal information is floating around online. Data brokers and people-search sites can expose your name, address, phone number and relatives. Scammers can use those details to make phishing messages feel more believable. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Apple’s early security release shows how fast the cyber threat landscape is changing. The company says there is no evidence these newly patched flaws were exploited, but it still moved the fixes out before the wider 26.6 release. That tells me the old habit of waiting weeks to update is getting riskier. AI can help defenders, but it can also help criminals study weaknesses faster. My advice is direct: update your Apple devices now, turn on automatic security updates and stop putting off patches that protect the phone and computer you use every day.

Do you think AI will make your devices safer because companies can find flaws faster, or more vulnerable because hackers can move faster too? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

Automatic updates, strong passwords and a personal data removal service can make you a harder target after the update. (Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

The robotaxi law that could ban Tesla

Published

12 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

For more than a decade, one question has loomed over the race to build autonomous vehicles: Are cameras alone enough to safely replace human drivers, or do truly driverless cars need additional, overlapping sensors like lidar and radar to navigate the world reliably? Tesla has bet billions of dollars that artificial intelligence and cameras are sufficient. Nearly every other major autonomous vehicle developer has gone the opposite direction.

Until now, that argument has largely been left to executives and engineers. New Jersey lawmakers are trying to settle it in state law.

A bill expected to come up for a vote later this year would require companies seeking to operate fully autonomous vehicles in New Jersey to use cameras plus two other sensing technologies, most commonly lidar and radar. If enacted, New Jersey would be the first state to codify such a hardware mandate into law, moving ahead of a nearly identical proposal currently pending action in neighboring New York. The measure would also effectively prevent Tesla’s camera-only Robotaxi system from operating in New Jersey unless the company changed its hardware.

”This is not anti-Tesla,” Democratic state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, the bill’s primary sponsor, told The Verge. “I’m pro-New Jersey safety.”

Zwicker, a physicist who works at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (New Jersey doesn’t restrict legislators from outside jobs), said after riding in a Waymo robotaxi in Phoenix he became convinced autonomous vehicles could transform transportation.

”I was amazed how quickly you get used to it,” he said.

Waymo uses several lidar sensors, while Tesla relies exclusively on cameras.

Bloomberg via Getty Images and Bloomberg via Getty Images

The technology, he argues, could dramatically expand mobility, reduce traffic deaths, and make transportation more accessible. But he believes the technology should roll out cautiously in the nation’s most densely populated state.

”At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can,” Zwicker said. “Can we get there? Maybe. But we’re not there yet.”

The proposal would establish a three-year pilot program governing the testing and deployment of fully autonomous vehicles in New Jersey. Companies would have to use multiple sensing technologies, report certain crashes, and receive state authorization before operating fully driverless commercial services. They would also have to complete at least 50,000 miles of supervised testing in New Jersey without a major incident before removing the human safety driver.

While state battles over autonomous vehicles have largely centered on safety performance, oversight, and potential job losses, New Jersey is attempting something different: legislating how the vehicles themselves should be built.

“At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can.”

— New Jersey state Sen. Andrew Zwicker

The sensor requirement is by far the bill’s most consequential provision and it would have repercussions beyond Tesla. Elon Musk has long argued that cameras paired with increasingly capable artificial intelligence are the best and most cost effective way to operate autonomous vehicles. Humans navigate the world using vision alone, Musk has said, so sufficiently advanced AI should eventually be able to do the same. Eliminating lidar and radar also dramatically lowers hardware costs, making it easier to build robotaxis cheaply enough to deploy at massive scale.

Musk has even argued that adding more sensors can reduce safety by forcing software to reconcile conflicting information.

”Lidar and radar reduce safety due to sensor contention. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins?” he wrote on X last year. “We turned off the radars in Teslas to increase safety. Cameras ftw.”

Most of the rest of the autonomous vehicle industry disagrees. Companies including Waymo and Zoox combine cameras with lidar and radar, arguing that each sensing technology has different strengths and weaknesses. Cameras capture rich visual detail, allowing vehicles to recognize colors, traffic signs, lane markings, and pedestrians, but they can struggle in poor weather, darkness, or glare. Radar performs better in rain and fog and excels at measuring the distance and relative speed of nearby objects. Lidar uses lasers to create detailed three-dimensional maps of a vehicle’s surroundings, making it particularly effective at determining the shape and distance of nearby objects.

Rather than relying on a single sensor, those companies combine the strengths of all three, arguing that redundancy makes autonomous driving safer. Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon electrical and computer engineering professor and autonomous vehicle safety expert, said camera-only systems may eventually become capable enough for fully autonomous driving. But he doesn’t believe they are today.

As Koopman put it, “eyeballs are better than cameras for many reasons” and “human brains are fundamentally more powerful than AI because we understand.” While there are situations where Koopman said camera-only works just fine — clear weather, favorable lighting, and less complex roads — he believes it’s not ready for broad consumer use.

“To run 24/7 across the majority of public roads in New Jersey today, it needs lidar,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that today camera-only technology is not up to the challenge.”

Koopman supports the New Jersey proposal but said he would prefer even stronger safeguards, such as requiring conventional driving controls like steering wheels and pedals so first responders could move disabled vehicles (so no Cybercabs, which don’t have either), and limits on how many AVs can be on the road during the pilot (a potential provision Zwicker said he’s considering).

“It’s pretty clear that today camera-only technology is not up to the challenge.”

— AV expert Philip Koopman

“The difference between 100 cars and 10,000 cars is night and day,” Koopman said. When the scale is small, “There’s just not enough cars for that much weird stuff to happen to them.” He pointed to Waymo, which now operates more than 3,500 commercial robotaxis across 11 US metro areas.

”They never used to have problems with floodwaters and school buses — not because they could do floodwaters and school buses,” Koopman said. “But with 100 cars it just doesn’t happen that often.”

Despite a lot of fanfare, Tesla currently only has a handful of unsupervised Robotaxis on the road, mostly in Texas, according to data from Robotaxi Tracker, suggesting it hasn’t been as easy to scale the camera-only approach as Musk had previously promised. Last year he predicted that Tesla would have hundreds of thousands of fully self-driving Teslas operating by the end of 2026. (Tesla did not respond to requests for comment for this article.)

Many of the bill’s provisions mirror recommendations from SAVE-US, a nonprofit that advocates for stricter autonomous vehicle regulation. Physicist and SAVE-US national campaign director Shua Sanchez said the group formed because Congress has failed to establish national rules while autonomous vehicle companies have expanded into states with dramatically different levels of oversight.

“California has the best safety regulations in the country,” he said. “Texas, Arizona, and Georgia have almost no state oversight.”

Among the organization’s priorities is requiring redundant sensing systems.

“We don’t have a problem with Tesla as a company,” Sanchez said. “We have a problem with camera-only autonomous vehicles.”

Nearly every major stakeholder has sought changes to the bill. Waymo successfully pushed to remove a requirement that safety drivers remain in vehicles throughout the pilot, and Uber argued the state should continue requiring human drivers for most rides, according to Zwicker.

Tesla has been lobbying against the legislation in New Jersey, according to Zwicker, who said company representatives met with lawmakers to argue that advances in artificial intelligence make additional sensor types unnecessary. Zwicker said that while the tech has gotten better, “I’m not convinced yet that they’re ready to go.”

The debate has spilled beyond the state House.

“As written, the legislation imposes restrictions so severely that Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology couldn’t legally operate in New Jersey,” read a Tesla missive to New Jersey Tesla owners encouraging them to contact lawmakers. “Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market.”

Zwicker said his office received roughly 4,000 emails within a day. “The messaging wasn’t about the details of the bill,” he said. “It was that Zwicker is trying to take away your Autopilot.”

“Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market.”

— A Tesla message to NJ owners

Zwicker rejects that characterization. The legislation applies only to fully autonomous vehicles operating under the proposed state pilot program — not driver-assistance systems that require a licensed human driver to remain behind the wheel.

The fight in New Jersey reflects a broader vacuum in autonomous vehicle regulation. Congress has debated national autonomous vehicle legislation for years without passing a comprehensive framework, leaving states to develop their own rules as commercial robotaxi services expand. Robotaxi services already operate in states including California, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia under dramatically different regulatory systems. While California requires extensive testing permits and public reporting, it doesn’t specify which tech the AVs need to get there. Texas has adopted a far lighter-touch approach, which lets automakers self-certify that their autonomous vehicles are ready for the road.

New Jersey’s bill raises the possibility that AV tech there could differ from that of other states. Zwicker says that isn’t his concern.

“The technology doesn’t exist in the Northeast at all,” he said. “The goal is to start now, do it safely, and build public trust.”

Sanchez sees the sensor requirement as a common-sense safeguard rather than a restriction on innovation.

“There are absolutely brilliant people working at Tesla trying to make camera-only autonomy work,” he said. “But they’re trying to do it with one arm tied behind their back.”

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