SF Chronicle – Cruise lays off 101 Bay Area employees as GM winds down robotaxi program
SF Chronicle reports that somehow Cruise still had 101 Bay Area employees to lay off
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
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Robotaxis are not just limited by weak technology. They unfortunately also don’t make any business sense…
Read MoreSF Chronicle – Cruise lays off 101 Bay Area employees as GM winds down robotaxi program
Seeking Alpha – Tesla’s Austin FSD Rollout: Autonomy Bet Is Failing
Seeking Alpha reports on how Tesla's FSD rollout was a failure. The stock value will surely soon reflect on this.
electrek – Tesla was forced to reimburse Full Self-Driving in arbitration after failing to deliver
electrek reports on how a a person who purchased Full Self Driving got their money back because Tesla was never able to deliver. Full Self Driving simply doesn't actually exist.
electrek – Tesla (TSLA) surge on investors betting its ‘Robotaxi’ will catch up to Waymo’s 6-year lead
electrek reports on how Tesla has an incredibly weak rollout of their "robotaxi" system, with a backup person onboard plus a human teleoperator. Yet their stock rises due to delusional fanboys like Dan Ives.
electrek – Zoox opens new production facility where its purpose-built robotaxis will be built
electrek reports that Zoox has created a dedicated factory in Hayward California for manufacturing their custom vehicles. Not only are they trying to develop self driving, but they are doing their own manufacturing, which will be incredibly cost inefficient.
electrek – Bloomberg just released the most embarrassing report about Tesla, Waymo, and self-driving
electrek reports on a truly shoddy and misleading reports on Tesla vs Waymo and self driving robotaxis
Business Insider – A study shows Waymo is more expensive than Uber and Lyft, but some people are willing to eat the extra costs
Business Insider reports that Waymo robotaxis are actually more expensive to use than Uber or Lyft. This does not bode well for the future of robotaxis as a profitable business venture, once the novelty wears off.
TheStreet – First look: Tesla’s biggest bet in years makes street debut
TheStreet published an article on June 11th on how the Tesla robotaxi system was going to start on the 12th, and that this is a make or break moment. But of course, Tesla wasn't able to start their system on the 12th since they don't have a viable system in the first place.
Lawsuit filed for cyclist seriously injured by two Waymo robotaxis
A lawsuit has been filed by a cyclist in San Francisco who was seriously injured by two (yes, two!) Waymo robotaxis. This demonstrates why Waymo should not be allowed on the transit only portions of Market Street. They simply are not safe with respect to bicyclists.
Forbes – Waymo To Separate From Google?
Forbes reports that Waymo is losing money hand over fist, and if they are separated from Alphabet/Google due to the anti-trust ruling, then their viability is very questionable. And the Forbes article makes a compelling argument of why this could happen.
Dallas Morning News – Aurora adds human driver back to Texas truck route
Dallas Morning News reports that Aurora has had to add backup drivers for their autonomous trucks due to safety concerns. Appears that autonomous trucks are not going to live up to their cost saving hype given that they need both a driver and really expensive technology.
Forbes – Elon Musk’s Tesla Robotaxi Rollout Looks Like A Disaster Waiting To Happen
Forbes reports on how Tesla is in no way ready for their June "Cybercab" rollout in Austin. They simply do not have the technology
Forbes – Inside The Waymo Factory Building A Robotaxi Future
Forbes reports on how Waymo is creating more and more robotaxis. The odd thing is that Google has committed to Jaguar I-PACE vehicles and have 2,000 in storage, even though the car has been obsoleted. And their Chinese option is of course subject to 175% tariffs, making it very uneconomical.
The Verge – Trump updates Biden’s robo-car crash reporting rule to benefit Tesla
The Verge reports that even though Tesla announced just awful financials their stock rose 20% on the mistaken believe that reducing regulations will help Tesla's robotaxi venture. The real problem is their lack of a working technology, not regulations.
SF Standard – Uber threatens to sue San Francisco over Waymo access to Market Street
SF Standard reports that Mayor Lurie has opened up a can of worms with his proposal to allow Waymos on the transit only portion of Market Street.
