Tesla can't win with this crowd. If Tesla didn't have remote driver oversight to start they'd be accused of being reckless and unsafe and taking uneccesaary risks to save a buck. Of course they are going to go slow at first. Just 10 vehicles, remote operators as needed, and a limited geographical footprint. Safety is a priority, but let's see how quickly things progress.
This is a straw man argument. No one ever suggested Tesla shouldn't move cautiously and prudently.
Comparing Waymo to Tesla in terms of geofencing is an apples to oranges comparison. Waymo is geofenced because their system requires detailed mapping of every street in the service area. You can't drive a Waymo outside of the geofence area. Conversely, Tesla is geofencing their Austin service area as a precautionary measure and picking geographically favorable conditions for the initial rollout. However, the same FSD that allows a Tesla to operate inside the Austin service area will work just as well anywhere in the country. My own experience here in Colorado proves that to my satisfaction.
How do you know that Waymo isn't using the same logic? Namely, picking geographically favorable locations for their rollouts? Moving cautiously and prudently? Why is it a negative for Waymo but a positive for Tesla?
Let me get this straight. Because you are not privy to Tesla's internal efforts on the autonomous ride hail permitting front, it means Tesla has no such efforts under way? Then you further extrapolate from there that this is a "clear indication" (LOL) that Tesla lacks confidence in its system. That is some pretzel logic.
You didn't get that straight. First, I did not say "no such efforts." I said "thus far, Tesla has announced no AV riding hailing permit applications in any jurisdiction." I welcome correction if that is not right.
For all I know, Tesla could be ready to file permit applications in 20 jurisdictions. Since Tesla wants AV riding hailing to be a core part of their business, logically they are making efforts in that regard. Just no permit applications thus far. That is a statement of fact. I don't see why this is a point of contention.
Second, I did not say "Tesla lacks confidence." I said they are not yet ready. I am building a deck. I am confident it will be ready by the time the final inspection is scheduled. I am also confident it is not yet ready for final inspection. I don't see how it follows logically that "not ready" is the same as "lacks confidence."
Permit applications are a matter of public record. For example, in Washington State where I live, as part of the permit application Uber and Lyft were required to disclose their proposed operating areas by zip code. In California, AV ride hailing operators must disclose report trip and operational data as part of the permit process. I'm sure if Tesla was applying somewhere we'd hear about it. Again, corrections welcome.
The Trump admin recently established a national framework for regulating autonomous vehicles. How long before regulation of autonomy gets bumped up to the federal level the same way that we regulate safety belts, vehicle emissions and highway speed limits. It only makes sense to have a national standard. You won't to pretend Waymo having permits in a few extra cities at this stage is some sort of moat? Permitting is not going to protect the inferior solution that costs more to implement and way longer to roll out to new location through extensive mapping.
I think you're confused about how the ride hailing process works. But first, I didn't say it was moat for Waymo. I just made a statement of fact (I've noticed statements of fact seem to cause you distress for some reason). Anyway that said, you can have the most safe car on the entire road that exceeds all federal standards and an impeccable driving record, and you cannot legally pick up rides for hire. Ride hailing is
not regulated by the federal government. It is regulated in some cases by the states, and more often on the local level.
Picking up rides for hire isn't as simple as having an app and a car. Uber and Lyft both spent lots of money and many years lobbying and in court rolling out their services. There are still restrictions where they can operation in some locations (notably airports). All that took time and money to hammer out. Any kind of AV ride hailing service will have to go through a similar process. That is a statement of fact. Sorry if that causes you distress.
