TechCrunch – OpenAI-backed Ghost Autonomy shuts down
Article from TechCrunch on an autonomous vehicle company you never heard of raised $220 million, hyped dubious AI tech, and then went bust. Just pathetic.
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
$$$
Robotaxis are not just limited by weak technology. They unfortunately also don’t make any business sense…
Read MoreTechCrunch – OpenAI-backed Ghost Autonomy shuts down
AI Addict – Single video shows problems with Tesla FSD and with Waymo
Fascinating AI Addict video shows how Tesla FSD 12 is an utter failure and how Waymos have their own big problems.
Fortune – General Motors has sliced Cruise’s budget by $1B, but says it may bring on new Cruise investors when it starts rolling robo-taxis back on the streets
Fortune article on how GM is exploring whether they can get others to bail out Cruise by claiming that it is an AI company, since that is where the money currently is. And still, no plan for restarting actual service.
Bloomberg – Tesla Must Give Driver-Assist Demonstration With Every US Sale
Bloomberg article on how Elon Musk, in an apparent whiff of desperation, is now requiring every customer a demonstration of Full Self Driving.
Instead of providing safety data, Waymo provides other data to get almost free labor
Waymo announces another data challenge, but still refuses to provide safety related data. And they are only paying in Google Cloud credits.
Electrek – All Teslas in the US get a one month trial of FSD starting this week
Article from Electrek on desperation of Elon Musk in pushing Tesla Full Self Driving. Turns out Tesla will now provide FSD for a month for free. Oh, and once again, Musk describes FSD as now being "mind blowing" (though of course that might just be the Ketamine talking)
The Cruise Origin Was Always Doomed
The Cruise Origin was hyped as being the future of robotaxis, providing low-cost service to everyone, including to people with disabilities. But it turns out it was indeed just hype, and now is a cancelled project. This means more though then just warehousing a bunch of unpermitted vehicles. It means that Cruise has no way of ever succeeding as a business.
SPACtacular! Autonomous Vehicle companies hit by wave of financial flimflammery
Epic article on the relationship between financial dodgy SPACs and autonomous vehicle companies. Explains what SPACs are, and goes into detail on who the AV companies who used them have either already flamed out or will do so relatively soon. No SPAC AV company will be spared.
Wall Street Journal – Self-Driving Cars Enter the Next Frontier: Freeways
Article from WSJ on how Waymo will soon be expanding to driverless service on freeways in Phoenix. This is of course key for providing more lucrative airport service. But driving at freeway speeds is of course inherently more dangerous.
Tesla is in a pickle
Tesla stock price has dropped tremendously so far in 2024. But expect it to drop much further due to inherent problems Tesla is simply failing to address. And this will sure cause FSD to wither away.
Entrepreneur – Tesla Paid No Federal Income Taxes Over 5 Years, While Paying Top Execs $2.5 Billion, According to a New Report
Entrepreneur.com reports that Tesla paid no income tax, yet still paid their execs billions. And yet they claim that LiDAR is to expensive for autonomous vehicles.
AAA: Fear of Self-Driving Cars Persists as Industry Faces an Uncertain Future
AAA reports that 91% of surveyed drivers are skeptical overall of fully self-driving vehicles, but are very interested in advanced driver assistance systems such as emergency braking. This indicates that there is not much financial opportunity in robotaxis.
TechCrunch – Applied Intuition lands $6B valuation for AI-powered autonomous vehicle software
Article from TechCrunch about an Autonomous Vehicle company raising a huge amount of money by jumping on the AI bandwagon. This will surely not end up well.
Fortune – Top Tesla analyst shocks market with prediction that volumes will drop, prompting stock swoon to 10-month low
Article from Fortune on how Tesla is no longer a "red-hot growth stock." This article is pertinent because it shows how Tesla is getting desperate, which of course will affect how they try to further monetize FSD and Auto Pilot, perhaps before they are ready.
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.
