Robotaxi. No steering wheel or pedals!

[HemiEd]

We have several electric car threads, but this is bye week and the first time I have noticed no steering wheel or pedals. Just wow.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the highly anticipated robotaxi last night, a driverless, $30K vehicle called the Cybercab. Tesla says the car—which lacks pedals and steering wheels—will go into production by 2027. The company also debuted a 20-person robovan and touted its Optimus robots.



The debut is almost a decade in the making and comes amid a series of lawsuits and investigations over Tesla's supervised driving vehicles. The company's investors hope robotaxis will generate almost 90% of Tesla's value and earnings by 2029. This would involve drivers being able to rent their vehicle through an app when not in use, earning passive income in a "part Uber, part Airbnb" model. Tesla hopes electric vehicle sales will eventually account for only 9% of Tesla's value.



Tesla is not the first company to pursue this model; Google’s Waymo already services 100,000 paid rides per week, including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Amazon's Zoox is coming soon to San Francisco.

[Fat Elvis]

Musk has been promising autonomous vehicles for about a decade now. Good luck on seeing the Robotaxis roll out by 2027.

I will say that the robots like Optimus will be pretty transformative, however, in the aging and disability field given the workforce shortages. Even at the higher end of the cost spectrum, those robots can do what direct support workers do at a lower cost.

[Delano]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plow

WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A ROBOT?

Optimus:

“Trying to be as human as you guys…”

Source: @teslaownersSV, @Tesla, @xai

pic.twitter.com/dMZH8kSVJ8

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 11, 2024

Severe uncanny valley feelings here. Yikes - I think I’d prefer a more robotic voice.

[Otter]

As a person who has been in IT for 20 years.

You think shit gets bad when your ATM card doesn't work? I can't even imagine entombing myself into this soulless thing. You're one GPS or AI **** up from the newest "worst ways to die".

The thing that freaks me out the worst is how that ****ing thing knew to pull over.

Interesting times.

[Lzen]

If they are all fly by wire and only to be used for AI driving then yeah, it makes sense that they don't have pedals or steering wheel.

Face it, these are coming whether we all like it or not. I can see the good and bad. Fewer morons operating automobiles while looking at their phones is good. Of course, the first time one of these robo cars runs over a person or crashes there will be a public uproar. Doubt it will stop them, though.

[Couch-Potato]

Bagh! I much preferred the previously proposed business model where you could tell your self-driving Tesla to go to work as a robo-taxi all day while you were working.

[Otter]

HOW DID IT KNOW TO PULL OVER?

[Chiefs4TheWin]

Originally Posted by Old Dog

what could possibly go wrong?

Mobile Coffins sound fun!

[Megatron96]

Originally Posted by Lzen

If they are all fly by wire and only to be used for AI driving then yeah, it makes sense that they don't have pedals or steering wheel.

Face it, these are coming whether we all like it or not. I can see the good and bad. Fewer morons operating automobiles while looking at their phones is good. Of course, the first time one of these robo cars runs over a person or crashes there will be a public uproar. Doubt it will stop them, though.

Pretty sure they’ve already run over at least one person.

[dlphg9]

If we were to have actual autonomous driving and everyone used it, then traffic accidents would take a nose dive. It'd be exponentially safer than what it is now. I hope to one day see a significant amount of self driving vehicles on the road.

[dlphg9]

Also the robo taxi looks gay as shit.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

If we were to have actual autonomous driving and everyone used it, then traffic accidents would take a nose dive. It'd be exponentially safer than what it is now. I hope to one day see a significant amount of self driving vehicles on the road.

The timing for this is perfect as I age. When I'm 80 and drive terribly, I'll just buy one of these or buy a monthly subscription or whatever.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

No kidding. Can you imagine these things down in Florida right now? Or in almost any situation that isn't the norm?

We have determined that a big hurricane will hit Florida somewhere in 4 or 5 days. So we are removing all of our cars from the danger zone.

If you wish to evacuate now, please reserve a trip immediately.

Otherwise good luck and normal commuter service will resume in a week or two.

Thank you for your understanding and stay safe out there.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

Pretty sure they’ve already run over at least one person.

Right...

But the serious question should really be how often they do that versus human drivers.

[scho63]

I rode in a Waymo twice out here in Phoenix.

1. They observe speed limits so you get passed often on long roads with few lights.
2. Don't drive on the highways
3. You are being watched and monitored while in the car. I took off my seatbelt in the back of the car since it was choking me and wouldn't adjust and within 30 seconds a safety person called into the car and asked me to put it back on. We accepted responsibility for having it off and they continued .
4. Police have issues trying to interact with them.
5. Rare instances of them getting stuck and you getting locked in.
6. The can stop the vehicle anywhere and have complete control.

It's the future whether we like it or not.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Otter

As a person who has been in IT for 20 years.

You think shit gets bad when your ATM card doesn't work? I can't even imagine entombing myself into this soulless thing. You're one GPS or AI **** up from the newest "worst ways to die".

People are shitty drivers and could kill you just as easily.