Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
The news media has expended considerable effort researching and publishing information about the robotaxi business. This channel highlights some of the important articles.
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 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.
A startup for autonomous bikes - RDR-LESS! This is actually a parody video from 7 years ago. Incredibly funny.
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 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.
Article from Reuters on how Zoox still exists, and how they are expanding their service in Las Vegas. Perhaps they should use Elon's silly tunnel.
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.
Article from TechCrunch on Waymo starting service in Los Angeles this week, and in Austin by end of the year.
Article from Forbes on how on March 14th Waymo will launch robotaxi service in Los Angeles. Will be limited at first, but then expand. This comes at a time when other companies, in particular Cruise, are facing setbacks.
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.
Article by Reuters. The study by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety directly refutes claims by Tesla that their self-driving systems are safer than human drivers.
Article from SF Standard on new laws on autonomous vehicles moving through California legislature. The newest proposed law is by Assemblymember Matt Haney and is for requiring additional data reporting from from autonomous vehicle companies.
Article from SF Chronicle explaining that though the CPUC granted Waymo permission to serve the peninsula, Waymo still needs permission from SFO to serve the airport. Also, Waymo does not have a timeline for expanding to cover the peninsula. Plus Waymo doesn't currently provide autonomous service on freeways yet due to safety issues.
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.
New York Magazine article. Apple canceled their EV/AV program, simply because they could not make it workable. Despite the hype, self-driving is far more complicated than most people thought. A bit of successful self-driving doesn't mean that the fantasy can or should always work.
