The Verge – Baidu’s supercheap robotaxis should scare the hell out of the US
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.
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 MoreThe Verge – Baidu’s supercheap robotaxis should scare the hell out of the US
Jalopnik – Wall Street Analyst [Wrongly] Thinks Removing Steering Wheels And Brake Pedals Will Make AVs Cheaper Than Regular Cars
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 – How Self-Driving Cars will Destroy Cities (and what to do about it)
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 – Want To Hail An Autonomous Vehicle? Pay More To Get There Slower
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 – Alphabet’s Waymo Raises More Money to Compete With Tesla Robotaxis
Barron's reports that Waymo reached their goal in raising $5.6 billion. This is it folks, the hype peak of robotaxis!
Bloomberg – Robotaxis Are No Friend of Public Transportation
David Zipper reports in Bloomberg on how robotaxis cause harm to public transportation, and that their statements otherwise are simply greenwashing.
The Verge – Cruise lost $435 million this quarter, even with its robotaxis on hiatus
The Verge reports that Cruise is still losing a tremendous amount of money even though it is not currently providing robotaxi service.
Business Insider – Elon Musk’s Robotaxi is still miles away from overtaking Uber and Waymo in the ride-hailing race
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.
The Elon Musk “robotaxi reveal” aftermath. An epic disaster
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 – Tesla is expected to unveil a robotaxi tonight: 5 things to know
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!
Financial Times – Rolling out driverless cars is ‘extraordinary grind’, says Waymo boss
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.
Fast Company – California almost passed a landmark law to prevent reckless speeding—then Newsom vetoed it
David Zipper reports in Fast Company on how the automobile industry managed to prevent this dire needed technology from being required. Identical speed assist systems are already required in Europe on new cars, even ones manufactured in the US. The automobile companies already have to provide this!
Washington Post – Cruise to pay $1.5 million for hiding details of pedestrian-dragging crash
Washington Post reports on how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has fined Cruise $1.5 million for withholding key information from regulators.
SF Chronicle – Gavin Newsom vetoes California bill requiring speed governors in new cars
Governor Newsom rejects technology that would have greatly improved automobile safety. He completely took the Republican side.
SF Chronicle – Newsom sides with autonomous vehicle companies, vetoes safety regulations
SF Chronicle reports that Newsom puts the interest of big corporate donors above safety. He vetoed bills that would have required human operators on large trucks. He also vetoed simple yet effective reporting requirements so that the public would actually be able to know how safe autonomous are (what are they hiding??). And to make things even worse, he signed a bill that exempts robotaxi companies from receiving tickets when their vehicles do something dangerous.
