Future Hype

[EddMarkStarr]

The Tesla Robotaxi Event, recently held at the Warner Bros. Studio backlot, had plenty of promises but no tangible working prototypes for an honest demonstration.

The CyberCab, the RoboVan, and the Optimus Bot - everything looked like movie studio props or a theme park display.

Elon Musk stands on stage, just making things up, and this is acceptable to Tesla shareholders?

 

[EddMarkStarr]

For a ground-level view of the Tesla "WeRobot" Event at the Warner Bros. Studio Backlot, here is a video by Brooks Weisblat:

 

[Latimer]

Yesterday afternoon six other drivers and I were stuck behind a Jaguar Waymo driverless taxi on a narrow one-way street while the car spent five minutes figuring out that it should turn at the intersection it was effectively parked at. Five minutes may not be a great amount of time, but it was unnerving because there was no one to contact to get the car moving, none of us knew if the automobile would ever move of its own volition and none of us was looking forward to the succession of maneuvers that would be required for us to free ourselves from the situation. Not a fan.

 

[NotHardUp1]

If driverless vehicles prove as buggy as other computerized technology, I predict vigilante drivers will "fix" the problem.

As for futurism, so much of what Musk does is hype, that if you took the hype out, you'd have little more left than East European racism and nouveau riche materialism.

 

[unloadonme]

Elon Musk accused of copying designs by I, Robot director

Alex Proyas, who directed the 2004 Will Smith film, compared his film to Tesla's new vehicles.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Yesterday afternoon six other drivers and I were stuck behind a Jaguar Waymo driverless taxi on a narrow one-way street while the car spent five minutes figuring out that it should turn at the intersection it was effectively parked at. Five minutes may not be a great amount of time, but it was unnerving because there was no one to contact to get the car moving, none of us knew if the automobile would ever move of its own volition and none of us was looking forward to the succession of maneuvers that would be required for us to free ourselves from the situation. Not a fan.

That's the situation that worries me. Even if contact information is painted on the car there's no guarantee anyone is online to immediately assist. If you try to drive around the taxi there's no way to predict when the car will suddenly start moving again - maybe right into you as you try to pass, due to faulty sensors.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

If driverless vehicles prove as buggy as other computerized technology, I predict vigilante drivers will "fix" the problem.

As for futurism, so much of what Musk does is hype, that if you took the hype out, you'd have little more left than East European racism and nouveau riche materialism.

There were leaks from Warner Bros. Studio staff that Tesla techs were working with Warner project engineers for two months getting the backlot setup for the taxi test drive routes and remote control of the Optimus bots. New technology is always perfected in controlled environments, but tech rollouts should be reserved for working prototypes able to function in real world settings.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Elon Musk accused of copying designs by I, Robot director

Alex Proyas, who directed the 2004 Will Smith film, compared his film to Tesla's new vehicles.

www.bbc.co.uk

Wow - the plot thickens!