Tesla has taken a significant step towards expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service with the launch of unsupervised robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas.
In a video posted on X and subsequently reposted by Elon Musk, the company demonstrated its ability to operate robotaxis without human safety monitors, marking a major milestone for the technology. The move is seen as a significant advancement towards Tesla's goal of fully autonomous vehicles, although it remains unclear how many people will be able to ride in unsupervised robotaxis in the immediate future.
This development marks a contrast with Waymo, which has been gradually introducing its commercial robotaxi service over time, starting with a small number of vehicles equipped with safety monitors and customer waitlists. Tesla's approach appears more aggressive, with Ashok Elluswamy, VP for autonomy, stating that the company is initially mixing unsupervised vehicles with broader fleet deployments, with the ratio increasing over time.
While some fans view this as progress towards fully autonomous driving, others are concerned about the safety implications and potential risks associated with operating robots without human oversight. Tesla has faced criticism in the past after its robotaxis have crashed approximately eight times in just five months, according to Eletrek.
The introduction of unsupervised robotaxis also mirrors Waymo's phased rollout strategy, which aims to gradually introduce autonomy features while maintaining a level of human intervention. However, this approach may not be as effective for Tesla, given the vastly different scale and complexity of its operations compared to Waymo's smaller fleet.
Regardless, Musk continues to insist that Tesla holds an advantage over Waymo due to its vast customer base and technology capabilities, despite acknowledging that most Teslas on the road lack necessary hardware for fully autonomous driving.
In a video posted on X and subsequently reposted by Elon Musk, the company demonstrated its ability to operate robotaxis without human safety monitors, marking a major milestone for the technology. The move is seen as a significant advancement towards Tesla's goal of fully autonomous vehicles, although it remains unclear how many people will be able to ride in unsupervised robotaxis in the immediate future.
This development marks a contrast with Waymo, which has been gradually introducing its commercial robotaxi service over time, starting with a small number of vehicles equipped with safety monitors and customer waitlists. Tesla's approach appears more aggressive, with Ashok Elluswamy, VP for autonomy, stating that the company is initially mixing unsupervised vehicles with broader fleet deployments, with the ratio increasing over time.
While some fans view this as progress towards fully autonomous driving, others are concerned about the safety implications and potential risks associated with operating robots without human oversight. Tesla has faced criticism in the past after its robotaxis have crashed approximately eight times in just five months, according to Eletrek.
The introduction of unsupervised robotaxis also mirrors Waymo's phased rollout strategy, which aims to gradually introduce autonomy features while maintaining a level of human intervention. However, this approach may not be as effective for Tesla, given the vastly different scale and complexity of its operations compared to Waymo's smaller fleet.
Regardless, Musk continues to insist that Tesla holds an advantage over Waymo due to its vast customer base and technology capabilities, despite acknowledging that most Teslas on the road lack necessary hardware for fully autonomous driving.
. Eight crashes in five months is a pretty steep learning curve, if you ask me 
. And don't even get me started on how it's being rolled out - mixing unsupervised vehicles with human drivers? That sounds like a recipe for disaster to me! 
. Waymo's phased rollout strategy might not be the most exciting thing, but at least it shows they're willing to take their time and get it right 
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! On one hand, I get why they're trying to go full throttle (pun intended) - it's all about making the technology more accessible and widespread, right? But on the other hand, I'm a bit uneasy about the lack of human oversight 
. The thing is, fully autonomous driving isn't just about having fancy tech - it's also about making sure the humans using those systems are safe and sound 
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. And with Tesla's fleet being so massive, how do they even ensure that all the robotaxis are functioning properly? It just seems like a recipe for disaster 
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. But hey, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out... one thing's for sure, it's gonna be interesting 
I gotta say, this is both super exciting and kinda scary at the same time! On one hand, it's awesome that Tesla is pushing forward with their autonomous ride-hailing service - think about all the good it could do for people who can't drive themselves or need a safe way to get around 
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, but I'm not so sure 
. But hey, only time will tell if Tesla's gonna pull it off or end up with a robot taxicab graveyard 
!
i mean, it's just a car with some extra tech, what's wrong with a little risk? 
and you're still gonna sit there and say "oh no, robots will kill us"? 
how about we focus on getting the tech to work instead of crying about it? 
