Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Jalopnik reports on how a Tesla on FSD hit and killed deer, and then didn't even stop the car. This crash was due to the Tesla relying on only a vision system instead of 3D sensors such as LiDAR or ultrasonic. If FSD cannot detect a deer it certainly won't be able to see pedestrians in similar situations.
Barron's reports that Waymo reached their goal in raising $5.6 billion. This is it folks, the hype peak of robotaxis!
NBC4 Washington reports that the Tesla Smart Summon system is dangerous and shoddy. And even though the self driving system has always had problems, Tesla has switched away from using much needed distance sensors.
This is likely the biggest autonomous traffic jam ever! Thanks for nothing, Waymo.
The Verge reports that Cruise is still losing a tremendous amount of money even though it is not currently providing robotaxi service.
Washington Post reports on how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now investigating four Tesla crashes where "Full Self Driving" was engaged. All crashes occurred when there were visibility issues. These suggest that Tesla only using computer vision instead of LiDAR is insufficient for autonomous driving. And this is of course extremely pertinent given that Tesla's stock price is now based on robotaxis, which are in turn based on technology which Tesla does not have and is not pursuing.
