Munich's MTZ signs letter of intent to operate up to 500 Tensor vehicles

Jidounten Lab reported on Nov. 10, 2026, that Munich's MTZ had signed a letter of intent to operate up to 500 Tensor vehicles. We have not been able to verify the primary source, so readers should consult the original report for details.

According to Jidounten Lab, Tensor would provide the vehicles and autonomous-driving software, while MTZ would operate them under its own brand and retain its customers and data. Deployment of up to 500 vehicles is conditional on a final agreement and Level 4 approval in Germany. How the operator's role and data handling are defined in the actual contract will be key to assessing the plan's viability.

The focus of the report is not the vehicles' autonomous-driving performance or mass-production technology, but the division of roles in the robotaxi business. Tensor is said to plan to provide vehicles and autonomous-driving software through recurring payments, while MTZ would handle operations under its own brand. The figure of up to 500 is a planned maximum, not a confirmed number of contracted vehicles. At this stage, therefore, what can be assessed is the proposed business model, not the scale of operations or capabilities already implemented. Under the plan, vehicle and software provision would be separated from local operations and brand management. The report says MTZ would retain its customers and data, but does not specify how much data this covers, including dispatch or driving records; whether Tensor could use it to improve its software; or how the companies would access it. The statement that MTZ would retain the data does not establish how it would be collected, used or shared, or what would happen to it after the contract ends. The terms of a final agreement will determine whether the proposal can become an operating model. A report by this newspaper on Nikkei XTech's coverage of humanoid control technology using a world model concerns simulation-based learning and deployment on real hardware. It addresses full-body control of humanoid robots, a different stage of technology and business development from the taxi operation plan. There is no public information linking the two, and reports about training data for robots cannot be used to infer how Tensor or MTZ would use vehicle data. To assess the plan for up to 500 vehicles as a business, it will first be necessary to confirm whether a final agreement is reached, the conditions for Level 4 approval, the start of operations and the actual number of vehicles deployed. Other issues include the scope of the data, usage rights, responsibility for vehicle or software failures, and how responsibility would be allocated if operations could not continue. These points are not covered by the reporting available here, and the letter-of-intent stage should be distinguished from actual operations.