Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Clearly the robotaxi company with the weakest sensors, the worst software, and the most deranged CEO. Fortunately reality has not been tainted by an actual robotaxis implementation, though long promised by their leader…
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
Inside EVs reports on a test of "Full" Self Driving (FSD) on a Cybertruck. In short, pedestrians are going to die.
Yes, it is true that Musk will try to modify federal rules for robotaxis in order to allow vehicles without controls for human drivers. But it should be very clear to everyone that Tesla does not have the necessary technology, nor is the robotaxi business a viable one, especially in the next four years. Therefore even if Musk is successful in changing the regulations it won't actually make a difference.
iSeeCars reports that
Tesla has the highest fatal accident rate by brand, even with their allegedly safety oriented driver assist and FSD.
Business Insider reports on how Tesla is requiring test drivers to test Full [sic] Self Driving on public roads - and not take over if at all possible when mistakes occur. The result is that Tesla has been endangering the public by running red lights, speeding, and getting far too close to pedestrians and bicyclists.
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.
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.
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.
Bloomberg reports that current US law limits number of vehicles without driver controls to 2,500/year. This means that even if Tesla somehow came up with a real "cybercab", they would be limited to producing just a very small number of them, making it economically unviable.
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.
Gizmodo reports on how the "robots" at the Tesla robotaxi reveal event were no robots at all, but instead just teleoperated (manually controlled). No AI. No cool tech. Just another lie by Elon Musk.
Jalopnik reports on how the "robots" at the Tesla robotaxi reveal event were no robots at all, but instead just teleoperated (manually controlled). No AI. No cool tech. Just another lie by Elon Musk.
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.
Yes, it was just a faked presentation. Just awful.
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!
