Reuters – Tesla, rivals get low marks for automated-driving technology
Article by Reuters. The study by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety directly refutes claims by Tesla that their self-driving systems are safer than human drivers.
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
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This page shows all the articles on Robotaxi.rodeo with the most recents ones first. Select an article below, or select a specific topic to browse using the menu above.
Read MoreReuters – Tesla, rivals get low marks for automated-driving technology
SF Standard – California lawmakers bring hammer down on self-driving car companies
Article from SF Standard on new laws on autonomous vehicles moving through California legislature. The newest proposed law is by Assemblymember Matt Haney and is for requiring additional data reporting from from autonomous vehicle companies.
SF Chronicle – Why Waymo robotaxis won’t be taking passengers to SFO, or on Bay Area freeways, anytime soon
Article from SF Chronicle explaining that though the CPUC granted Waymo permission to serve the peninsula, Waymo still needs permission from SFO to serve the airport. Also, Waymo does not have a timeline for expanding to cover the peninsula. Plus Waymo doesn't currently provide autonomous service on freeways yet due to safety issues.
Bloomberg – How Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built
In depth article from Bloomberg on the history of the Apple car project. Describes how Apple tried to outdo everyone else and start with Level 5 autonomy. That was one of their many mistakes. Also, interesting that Steve Jobs was apparently first to raise idea of an Apple car. Also, Apple considered buying Tesla at one point, and considered partnering with various automobile companies to actually manufacture the vehicle. But the biggest problem was indecision.
New York Magazine – The Self-Driving Car Bubble Has Popped
New York Magazine article. Apple canceled their EV/AV program, simply because they could not make it workable. Despite the hype, self-driving is far more complicated than most people thought. A bit of successful self-driving doesn't mean that the fantasy can or should always work.
Cruise now worth $15 billion less
GM has drastically lowered the value of Cruise by billions and billions of dollars. Cruise valuation dropped roughly from $30 billion to $15 billion. And GM is taking a loss of about $11.6 billion.
CPUC allows major Waymo expansion
In a surprising turnabout, the CPUC granted Waymo permission to expand service to the Bay Area peninsula and to most of Los Angeles. This still does not allow Waymo to provide service to the SFO airport though.
SF Examiner – San Francisco balks at Cruise settlement offer
Article from SF Examiner on how the City of San Francisco is objecting to Cruise's proposal to the CPUC to end the investigation into the incident where Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian.
TechCrunch – The Apple Car that never was: A timeline
A truly fascinating and in depth timeline of the ill fated Apple Autonomous/Electric Vehicle program. Amazing that at one point it had 5,000 employees!
Washington Post – Apple ramped up its autonomous car project last year. Now, it’s killing it.
After spending billions of dollars, Apple realized that it is best to completely abandon their autonomous electric vehicle program. This article is very relevant because it shows that the current autonomous vehicle business is in collapse. It is an especially important message for Cruise.
How bad of a situation is Cruise in?
It isn’t looking good. It has been 4 months since their epic disaster of seriously injuring a pedestrian, misinforming regulators and the public, and shutting down service. They have pushed out almost all of their executives and a quarter of their staff. And they do not appear to have a recovery plan. Things do not look good. One has to expect Cruise to be sold in a fire sale or simply abandoned by the end of 2024. This post covers a few recent factors that point in this direction.
TechCrunch – Stellantis CEO says there’s still life in Waymo deal for self-driving delivery vans
This article is only of interest because it shows how drastically robotaxi plans have changed over the last few years. Waymo purchased from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis) 100 minivans in 2016 and then another 500 in 2017. In January 2018 it was announced that Waymo was ordering "thousands" of minivans for a 2018 self-driving fleet rollout. In August 2018 it was announced that Stellantis was going to supply (up to) 62,000 minivans to Waymo/Google. But that is all just a distant memory.
SF Chronicle – Driverless robotaxis are causing less mayhem on S.F. streets. City officials explain why
Robotaxi disruptions for emergency responders have fallen significantly for the last 6 months. This is due to Cruise suspending operations, and because Waymo is now more careful to avoid geolocated incidences. Also, Waymo now gives emergency responders ability to manually move a vehicle.
Bloomberg – GM’s Cruise Prepares to Resume Robotaxi Testing After Halt
Cruise is reportedly nearing resuming robotaxi testing in Houston or Dallas. There is no schedule and currently deliberations continue. They will use "safety drivers" (which is of course expensive).
TechCrunch – Waymo’s application to expand California robotaxi operations paused by regulators
Waymo was hoping to soon expand its robotaxi service in Los Angeles and San Mateo, which would include San Francisco Airport. But the CPUC regulators ruled that their application for expansion has been suspended for 120 days, until June 2024.
