Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
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…
Reuters reports that Tesla has come to the realization that FSD won't actually be adequate for robotaxis and that teleoperation will be needed. Tesla also explains that originally the robotaxis would be owned by Tesla, not by individuals as described earlier.
Barrons falsely reports that Tesla robotaxis will be much cheaper because they will have half the parts. But the stock market loves the story!
TechCrunch reports that Waymo is starting to outsource operations of their robotaxis to an African fintech company in order to save on costs.
OregonLive reports on how lawsuits on Tesla's "Self-driving" system are reaching a crescendo. Still, Tesla is usually coming out unscathed due to them successfully blaming the driver for foolishly believing that FSD is actually Self Driving.
The Verge reports on a level 4 robotaxi that costs just $30k by having swappable batteries. Tesla and Waymo won't be able to compete with that low of a vehicle cost.
Jalopnik reports in how a Wall Street analyst wrongly thinks that robotaxis will be less expensive than regular cars due to steering wheel and pedals not needed
Not Just Bikes posts an epic video on not just the problems of self driving cars, but how they would turn our cities into driving hell - unless we do something about it.
Forbes reports on how using a Waymo is significantly slower and more expensive than using an Uber or Lyft. The only reason to take one is for the novelty of a Disneyland like ride.
Barron's reports that Waymo reached their goal in raising $5.6 billion. This is it folks, the hype peak of robotaxis!
David Zipper reports in Bloomberg on how robotaxis cause harm to public transportation, and that their statements otherwise are simply greenwashing.
The Verge reports that Cruise is still losing a tremendous amount of money even though it is not currently providing robotaxi service.
Business Insider reports on how the Tesla robotaxi is still no where close to being viable. They do not have the necessary technology, are not even developing it, will not be able to deal with the many regulations, and will have great deal of trouble catching up with other companies.
Elon Musk gives a lame presentation about robotaxis and Tesla stock drops by a whopping $88.5B. Ouch! It is clear that Tesla will not be producing a robotaxi system, a lower-cost car, nor useful robots in the foreseeable future.
NPR does some excellent reporting before the Tesla "robotaxi reveal" event on October 10th. Key point is that Musk has consistently promised robotaxis next year, for years!
An old article from the Financial Times on the difficulties encountered when rolling out autonomous vehicles. Since this article is quite relevant to the upcoming October 10th Tesla robotaxi fiasco, it is worth reading again today.
