Tesla's big advantage isn't just its technology, but also its bravado
Date:2019-04-25 15:34:27 Posted by:Linda View:369The advances Tesla has made with its autonomous driving technology are impressive, but perhaps more impressive is the company's raw courage. Or you can call it foolhardiness, if you like.
The timeline Tesla set out to get fully self-driving cars on the road is aggressive. The company announced at an investor conference in Palo Alto Monday that it's ready to turn on fully autonomous capability in all of its cars by some time next year. It then plans to roll out an automated taxi service that would allow Tesla owners to rent out their cars for rides while they aren't using them.
Cruise, a San Francisco company funded by General Motors and Honda, has said it will have self-driving taxis on the road by the end of this year, but often hedges that they will be "gated by safety." The service will initially operate in limited markets, presumably San Francisco, and may still have trained safety drivers sitting ready at the wheel, at least at first.
Waymo has already begun giving taxi rides in Arizona, but only to preselected riders and, again, with trained drivers behind the wheel. Those drivers are taught to monitor what's happening and to be ready to slam on the brakes or grab the steering wheel as needed.
Tesla, on the other hand, is getting ready to simply release its self-driving cars into customers hands. In most places, a driver will legally be required to be at the controls but this will likely be the owner, not someone specifically paid and trained to monitor the operation of a self-driving vehicle.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/24/success/tesla-self-driving-cars/index.html
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