Autonomous Cars

Remember that nightly parade of honking robotaxis captured by Sophia Tung? The resolution is even more nerdy that you could hope.

Interestingly, the UX seems to prioritize video streaming over any kind of trip visualization. Tesla seems to think people would rather watch movies than be assured their driverless car can see other cars and pedestrians. (They’re probably right, too.)

Check out our video highlighting the most important parts.

Why didn’t Tesla call it the Cybervan?

Lots to parse. A few surprises. But as we’ve said before, the robotaxis are operating in a highly controlled setting and none of this is guaranteed to launch when Musk predicts it will. So stay tuned.

They’re doing the robot. What else?

The bots will be mingling with guests at the event, Musk says, who implores his guests to “be nice” to the robots.

Elon is putting the emphasis on the “bo” in robovan, so I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying at first. But yeah, it’s obviously not a conventional looking van.

The robotaxi will charge wirelessly through an inductive charger, Musk says. Tesla has long teased wireless charging for its EVs.

This is becoming a running theme with Musk: the idea that the unused compute power of millions of idle Tesla vehicles could be used like Amazon’s cloud service business. Of course, it’s not that easy.

Elon says he plans on starting fully autonomous Model 3 and Model Y trips in Texas and California “next year.” Cybercab won’t go into production until “2026... before 2027.”

Cheers as Musk says the cost will be “below $30,000.” Take that with a huge grain of salt.

Elon selling autonomous cars as a time saver, which is a very familiar argument for anyone who has been paying attention to the AV industry.

Elon gets in. It’s driving him through the film lot. There are 20 of them on the lot, and another 30 driverless Model Ys.

Don’t do Hayao Miyazaki like this.

That’s what my wife just asked me about this event, which was supposed to begin FIFTY ONE MINUTES AGO.

(The answer is no, it hasn’t.)

Elon is tweeting about Howard Stern and NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Meanwhile, we’re 45 minutes past the start time.

Apparently there are a lot of crypto scams masking as Tesla robotaxi livestream on YouTube — a problem we have reported on in the past.

Back to the Future, E.T., and The Mask have all received the robotaxi treatment. The question I have: were these done by human artists, or AI?

Apparently that’s what’s holding up the event. Hope they’re ok!

It’s a family affair at Tesla’s robotaxi event, as the rest of us wait for it to start. We’re already 20 minutes late.

And the vibes, they are ambient.

Once upon a time, Tesla used to invite media organizations like The Verge to its product events. But after the disastrous Cybertruck reveal (remember the smashed window?), Musk shut down the company’s PR division and stopped inviting us to his parties. So it goes!

In a speech in Detroit, former President Donald Trump seemed to suggest that he would “stop [self-driving cars] from operating” if he was elected in November. Not exactly the message his pal Elon Musk wants to hear on the eve of his big Tesla robotaxi event in Hollywood. Maybe Trump’s invitation was lost in the mail.

That’s what Aurora CEO (and ex-Google self-driving car project lead) Chris Urmson had to say about Elon Musk’s technological approach to autonomous vehicles. Musk is gearing up to reveal Tesla’s first robotaxi at an event in Hollywood Thursday. But Urmson’s been working on this problem for his entire career, having led Carnegie Mellon’s team during the original DARPA challenges. Listen to this interview to get a more thoughtful idea of the challenges of autonomous driving.

Bloomberg reports that the soon-to-be-unveiled purpose-built driverless vehicle will have “two front seats and two doors that open upward like butterfly wings,” citing sources familiar. That would square with the concept art we saw in Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography. Tesla could also announce an autonomous van, and Full Self-Driving capabilities for its Semi trucks.

Starting this week, certain members of the public will be able to hail a ride in one of the company’s autonomous Jaguar I-pace vehicles. The service area covers 37 square miles of Austin, where Waymo has been piloting its ridehail service with employees since last year. And the full commercial launch of Waymo’s robotaxi service will start “early next year” — and will be available exclusively in the Uber app.

The Waymo car was trying to make a turn and stopped as Vice President Harris’ motorcade was arriving at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, halting the motorcade, according to The San Francisco Standard.

A police officer was able to move the car. We reached out to Waymo, SF police, and the VP’s campaign to learn more. For now, here’s video from ABC 7 News in the Bay Area.