Imagine a taxi that can’t operate in the rain. That is what Tesla has delivered in Austin TX.
These riders learned that the hard way, but don’t have anything particularly negative to say about it… That’s the advantage of only making a Robotaxi service available to hand-picked Tesla influencers.
Tesla: We need to release the product to the public asap, how else are we gonna create something that really works?
VW: https://youtu.be/Vaa3QH2hzRs
Google (Waymo) already has an entire fleet of autonomous vehicles available for hire in Austin and many other cities. Amazon (Zoox) has been testing on the roads in Austin for over a year now. Both have thus far seemed to be doing really well from a safety perspective. But then again, like VW, they’re using lidar and can see through rain, fog, and night.
From a business perspective, Google and Amazon have diverse revenue streams and the deepest pockets imaginable, and will crush Tesla, whose only other sources of revenue are actively drying up.
All of this is so plainly obvious, along with how shitty Tesla is as a company. But TSLA somehow keeps its overinflated value.
I don’t understand it.
It’s a meme stock. Game stop on ketamine.
Forgive my ignorance, but why is Tesla using cameras and not LIDAR?
LIDAR used to be too expensive and bulky. Some Chinese cars now have sleek integrated LIDAR. Rain should have been figured out by now if cameras only can do it. Does FSD work in rain?
Because Elon has far more influence than intelligence.
They used to use LIDAR but Musk decided the hardware cost too much
It’s cheaper.
That…that’s it? He’s the richest man in the world for fucks sake. Also, they don’t work.
You don’t get to be rich by spending all your money.
But yes, that’s it. There’s also plenty of hubris involved, as well as short-sightedness.
So is not using a Tesla
What’s it cost to hire an assassin? Teslas might be cheaper.
Less reliable, though.
The one good thing about the Tesla implosion is the increased attention on Zoox
(No kidding - Bezos seems to ruin the other things he touches, like Blue Origin and The WaPo, but Zoox is actually making great progress! Probably because Beez isn’t a car guy, he’s a yacht guy I guess.)
It’s because Zoox is operating as an independent subsidiary of Amazon, and Jeff isn’t holding the reins any more (though Andy is, in my opinion, a worse leader for the company).
I’m sure that Amazon will slaughter the fatted calf once Zoox fully proves out by operating its intended product, though. Can’t let anything good exist when you can claw back that billion dollar investment, not to mention years of a surely massive operating budget.