Beyond the Robotaxi Fleet: Tesla's Strategy for Accessible, Affordable Personal Vehicle Ownership

Total recall reference there, for those who are old like me, and like to date themselves. 😇

As someone who has owned several automobiles in his past, my first question would be, what would vehicle maintenance be like for these Robo taxis? For example, oil changes, battery testing and replacement, alternators, assuming Teslas use those that is, testing of belts, testing of tire pressure, the list goes on.
Sure, owning a car that can drive itself sounds wonderful, in theory, but there is a whole hell of a lot to consider when it comes to the practicality of owning an automobile.

Note, I'm not saying this is a bad step moving forward, I'm just asking the practical questions that somebody will ask eventually. As someone who has owned vehicles in the past, I know exactly the frustrations of vehicle maintenance.

Please discuss! 😊

I'm glad to see someone considering the market. The camera-only navigation system Tesla uses concerns me, I prefer some redundancy such as LiDAR and radar. I'd rather have a Waymo. But there is still time to monitor before an option will be available, so I'll make final judgment later. Living where I do where there is no practical public transit I want my own car very much. I'd take it to the coffeeshop drive-thru every day just because I could!

I would definitely want to see how other people found it, and would need to make sure my finances were all squared away as servicing and such are indeed quite expensive. That said, I think assuming that reviews are good and I knew I would have the ongoing funds, I'd make this purchase in a heartbeat. The idea of just getting in a car and going somewhere, no talkative strangers required, sounds like a dream. I do hope as well that other parties enter the market, as I'd pay Tesla if I had to but would generally rather put my money behind almost anybody else.

This is not something I would jump on, for one very simple reason.
I do not trust other people.
Having a self-driving car sounds great. But what happens if you run into a maniac on the road who runs a red light, or peels out of a parking lot ahead of you at high speed? A sighted person would be able to react. I would not. I would have no idea what's happening and would have to trust that the self-driving vehicle would be able to protect me from other people. So long as there are human drivers out there, I'm not willing to take the chance that my vehicle could protect me.

I have habitually hated road trips, but honestly having my own car could change that. And yes, if they are the only ones to come that low, they will most certainly dominate and I will most certainly consider it regardless of how I feel about other things related to the company. Still a bit of an if for me rather than a when--partly because it really does feel expensive and I'm a bit of a home body, but the idea of riding with absolutely nobody else in the car sounds like pure heaven!

When you, do, go on your road trip, make sure you podcast it and use wiki trips, so we can listen to your adventure. 😁👍

I admit I'm not a car expert, so apologies if these questions have been answered/addressed elsewhere, but it seems like everything I've seen about the Cybercab in the context of benefiting blind people relates to its included accessibility features (braille lettering on tactile controls, spacious interior conducive to service animals and mobility devices, etc.), rather than how, exactly, the level 4 autonomous driving will safely work at scale, to the point that a totally blind person could buy a car and use it to travel independently. Does Tesla have a plan to deploy these vehicles, and the remote assistance needed for their current level of autonomy, in a way that a $30,000 price point would be viable?

Also, how will the question of liability be determined in the context of a blind driver? My (admittedly limited) understanding is that typically, when someone owns a car, barring any manufacturer defects or large-scale malfunctions, the driver is largely responsible for safely operating the vehicle. Would the ownership of level 4 autonomous vehicles, like the Cybercab, by private individuals require an entirely new legal framework for determining liability between the owner and manufacturer?

I am In Canada so that $30000 is probably gonna be more like $43000 and i don't have that kind of money just lying around, but if i could i might buy one, idk how i would feel with no human in the car though.

I am having nightmares just thinking about being in a moving car all by myself. This idea sounds like something for the younger crowd. I am in my 60s and would rather not spend the money or the time. Unless, of course, if it really works.

I live in a highly pedestrian oriented neighborhood in Chicago. I can walk to the grocery store, a 40,000 square foot barbell focused gym, shops, concert venues, and many other places. A bus one block away runs every ten minutes or less. I am two blocks from a rapid transit rail station with trains to downtown Chicago. It is truly a place where one can live a car free life. I have become a master at using public transit and feel autos are a scourge on the urban landscape. For many of my trips, walking or using public transit would be much better. That’s because it would be about as fast and I would not face horrible parking congestion after a concert. Visiting the suburbs or small town America would be extremely useful. I would love to visit state parks for example. I am fortunate because I can afford to live here. It is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in America. Other places are less walkable. For those in more car centric areas, this can drastically increase independence. I will wait to learn how it handles dirt and gravel roads in rural areas. Also, careful driving is needed going to the mountains in the western US.

After reading the above post, the theme song to the old 1980s TV series, "Cheers", is playing on loop in my head.
So, thank you for that. 😝

For anyone who has never seen/heard the TV series, here is a clip of the intro:
https://youtu.be/7KtAgAMzaeg?is=7r0TPouh7qbbFFvw

PS, your neighborhood sounds awesome, by the way. 👍😎

My understanding is that level 4 autonomous vehicles, like the Cybercab and Waymo, are currently only available as robotaxis, which, similar to regular taxis, fall under a different liability standard than consumer cars like the Cybertruck. I think that for consumer-grade level 3 autonomous systems, like Tesla's Full Self-Driving, onboard human supervision is still required, effectively maintaining the existing consumer standard. This is why, to me, private ownership of level 4 autonomous vehicles represents entirely novel questions compared to any other practical deployment of self-driving technology that I've seen so far.

The demonstration at the NFB convention shows that the engineering team at Tesla is working cooperatively with the blind and disability communities to be as accessible as possible. Software, mobile applications, and interior layout and controls are intended to meet all prevailing accessibility standards and the high expectations of people with disabilities. Currently, Tesla uses internal cameras inside its cars for consumers to enforce its policy on supervised driving. The Chinese of course have found a hack around the system. Websites in China are selling realistic looking heads that can be placed in front of the cameras so drivers can lay back and relax and let the system fully drive itself. The self-driving technology will likely be accessible and ready to deploy before the policy and social questions are fully thought through and a consensus achieved. Yet, other kinds of technology have blown past these barriers with unresolved questions that have created a social nightmare. Smart phones take great looking photographs and videos that are near perfect every time, thanks to technology that automatically focuses the camera, adjusts light levels, makes colors contrast, and stabilizes minor motions when a picture or video is taken. Movies shot with iPhones have been nominated for Academy Awards. Yet, the technology has resulted in an explosion of child pornography and exploitation. Only recently have companies attempted to respond to the situation. Similarly, tablet computers introduced into classrooms have been disasters because they offered more entertainment than learning, discovery, research, and creativity. Test scores of essential skills and knowledge are significantly lower for students who use tablets extensively in the classroom compared to those who do not use them at all.

As for the Cheers theme, I always thought the piano was out of tune and wondered how a major production company could let this happen. Well, I learned later it was not out of tune at all. It was intentional. The Hollywood producers wanted the sound of a smoky bar at 2:00 in the morning. So they ordered a phaser effect on a recording of a perfectly tuned piano that created a wavy piano sound. The audio engineers duplicated and detuned the sound waves. Some say it gives the track a warbling and nostalgic sound, when acoustic pianos were rarely tuned at bars and the piano player was tired late at night. By season four, I have learned, the song was rerecorded and the phaser effect was not used at all in most of the new version and barely used in a few places.

We kind of have the Cheers atmosphere here in Chicago. We have a rock club called Reggies. The venue has a fleet of school buses painted with a psychedelic color scheme. The buses are used to bring fans from the bar in the city to shows at an amphitheater in the suburbs. The bus ride is free, but securing a spot is first come, first served. So fans arrive two to three hours in advance of bus departure to obtain a wristband for the bus. While waiting, people order meals from the kitchen, have a drink, and learn the names of their fellow bus passengers. By the time everybody rolls to the concert, we know each other’s names and have left the concerns of the world behind us. Traveling solo and independently in a Tesla Cybercab sounds cool, but it could be socially isolating and alienating when highly social alternatives are available. Of course, this technology is so very early. Microsoft does not even recognize the word Cybercab in its dictionary for its Microsoft 365 service that includes Word.

So if we can use synthesized photos to fake out facial recognition, can we use highly detailed mannequins to fake out these Robo taxis?
Inquiring minds, and all that jazz. 🎷

With the ideologies being pushed by Musk, I'm having a really hard time reconciling that with the effort it seems Tesla is putting into this. Specifically I'm talking about his stance on DEIA. I would be hesitant to hedge my bets on a company with this man in charge if they do decide accessibility is, after all, not important at some point. What are your thoughts on this?

I think there was an idea that, if you owned one of these cars, you could send it off to make money, thereby offsetting some of the cost. I guess the flaw in that is, if everyone buys a car with this in mind, then no one will want to rent a ride.

In principle, I'd love this. Practically speaking, I'd probably wait until a few other cars have been on the road and there was enough evidence that I'm no more likely to die in a car crash in one of these as in a car with a human driver. they don't have to be perfect, they just have to be better than human drivers and, considering the hardware, reaction times are likely a fraction of that of a human.

I personally think that car ownership for blind people is still not ready yet. Many laws still need to be written just for sighted drivers yet alone a self driving vehicle. Can you imagine the insurance on top of all that for blind drivers? Those monthly premiums are going to be tremendously expensive! Cool idea, but for now to many limitations. We wont see blind folks going on any road trips for a while! lol!

Insurance will be the same for blind users as sighted if it is a completely automated system. Insurance will be based on the safety of the self driving and the number of miles one does per year, area, where it is parked, etc. Removing control from everyone should, in theory, level the playing field in this circumstance at least.

Am I correct in thinking there is no control at all for the user aside from plotting destination?

Also, something I noticed in the fantastic OP, they will be level 4. As I understand it, it goes up to level 5. What is it missing?

As someone who drove for a good number of years, I would love something like this but I'm not going to hold my breath as Elon is prone to promising things in unrealistic timescales. It still feels like we are realistically a good way off this, at least in the UK.

But I love the thought of going out with my dogs, in full blind man outfit with the shades, the hat and tapping away with my white cane. Then getting into my car and driving off. Hopefully the Tesla will always be able to record footage of all the jaws dropping and automatically describe it to me. I'd like a little steering wheel to, just for show - maybe like the one Maggie uses in the Simpsons opening credits.

You could get one of those plastic toy steering wheels for small children. Maybe rig a suction cup on the back of it, and stick it on the console somewhere. Then you will have your steering wheel, and you can sit back and drive like a.. Real.. professional. 😉

I just hope that, in 10 years, these vehicles are capable of driving around on Mars. Since Musk claims that, "Space X", will get us there in a decade. 😇

Dear Stephen,

🙄👎

Thank you, that is all. 🙇