Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
Robotaxis are not just limited by weak technology. They unfortunately also don’t make any business sense…
NY Times asks the truly pertinent question: is Waymo a viable business that will continue? While most articles dwell on safety issues, the NY Times digs into how Waymo might not continue once it realizes it is in a hopeless taxi business where they have to front all the costs.
SF Examiner reports that the California state Legislature has once again approved requiring vehicles over 10,000 to have a human operator on board. It is now up to Gov Newsom to sign the legislation. But given his love of lobbyists he will most likely veto it for the second time.
Mission Local reports on how robotaxis will not be ticketed for breaking the law after all, perpetuating a two tiered system for safety.
SF Chronicle reports that Waymo is starting to understand that they need to have a profitable business in order to continue.
Wired reports that Waymo has not started curbside pickups and drop-offs at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport in Arizona. And indeed, people who cannot lift their suitcases into the trunk will simply not be accommodated.
WSJ reports that yet another import VP has departed from Tesla. The rats are clearly jumping ship, given their lack of faith in Tesla's purported future.
Bloomberg reports on an purported deal where Uber will offer Cruise robotaxi rides early 2025.
Business Insider reports that Elon Musk's buyout of Twitter was the worse deal for banks in a long time. The banks still are burdened by not being able to sell off these risky loans. This is more evidence that Tesla/Musk do not even have the financial capability of creating a robotaxi fleet.
Waymo reports that they served 100k paid trips in a week. They should have also mentioned that they have about the same number of completely empty trips, clogging our roads and generating pollution.
The Verge reports that Waymo will be using fewer sensors in the future to lower costs. The article also explains that the vehicle in question will face a 100% tariff since it is made in China.
Financial Times reports on how the emissions from Big Tech are growing rapidly, and how their "carbon offsets" are allowing them to hide their true emissions.
Bloomberg reports on how the vaporware robotaxi demo originally schedules for August 8th did of course not happen. Plus the whole robotaxi concept appears to simply be a diversion to boost up Tesla stock prices. And it has worked! Meanwhile, a motorcyclist was killed by a Tesla driver using FSD.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Aurora has raised $483 million. This was significantly over their $350 million offering, but increased due to investor demand. They still are looking for another $350 million in investments. Despite these large numbers they only now have enough cash for operations through the end of 2025.
Electrek reports on how crowd sourced data, limited as it is, shows that Tesla is nowhere near achieving a claimed 5x-10x improvement in miles between interventions for FSD.
CNN reports on how an analyst from Truist Securities took up Elon Musk's statement that doubters of FSD should test-drive it. It did not work out well.
