Tesla finally unleashed its Robotaxis in Austin. Let's see how that is going

fooferdoggie

fooferdoggie

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Videos Show Tesla Robotaxis Swerving, Hard-Braking for Cops in First Day of Austin Launch​

The latter was the case in what has been perhaps the most viral fail of Tesla’s first days of operation on Austin’s roads, where it can only operate in a small, geofenced area. In a video published by Tesla Daily, which shows a 20-minute ride in the backseat of the driverless (though monitored by an in-vehicle supervisor and remote drivers ready to intervene if needed) Model Y SUV. About seven minutes into the ride, the Tesla comes upon an intersection while in the turn-only lane. The wheel jerks a bit as the car drives straight through the intersection, ending up in the opposite lane of traffic once through the lights. It starts to correct, then opts to just bypass the cars in front of it by driving through the no-passing zone lines and into a turn lane, where it finally gets re-aligned.
gizmodo.com

Videos Show Tesla Robotaxis Swerving, Hard-Braking for Cops in First Day of Austin Launch

Is driving on the wrong side of the road a feature?
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com
 
I guess in a city like NY, people are used to taxis going full tilt, and hence, robotaxi logic design is going to play to that paradigm. If I were in charge of designing autopilot logic for taxis/SDCs, I would take the conservative approach – kind of similar to how I drive. A SDC should not be driving here, it should be driving up there, and adjusting its behavior based on what other traffic is doing. Slow down sooner, allowing for more space, pay attention to everything (something I am admittedly a little slack about) and when something up there does not match any known situation, slow down or stop until the situation can be assessed. Ellno does not seem to be very good at designing safe autopilot and I would be beyond hesitant to get into one of his deathtraps.
 
fooferdoggie said:

Videos Show Tesla Robotaxis Swerving, Hard-Braking for Cops in First Day of Austin Launch​

The latter was the case in what has been perhaps the most viral fail of Tesla’s first days of operation on Austin’s roads, where it can only operate in a small, geofenced area. In a video published by Tesla Daily, which shows a 20-minute ride in the backseat of the driverless (though monitored by an in-vehicle supervisor and remote drivers ready to intervene if needed) Model Y SUV. About seven minutes into the ride, the Tesla comes upon an intersection while in the turn-only lane. The wheel jerks a bit as the car drives straight through the intersection, ending up in the opposite lane of traffic once through the lights. It starts to correct, then opts to just bypass the cars in front of it by driving through the no-passing zone lines and into a turn lane, where it finally gets re-aligned.
gizmodo.com

Videos Show Tesla Robotaxis Swerving, Hard-Braking for Cops in First Day of Austin Launch

Is driving on the wrong side of the road a feature?
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com
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I definitely would not want the supervisor's job – too many flashbacks to when I was teaching my kids to drive, stomping on imaginary brakes.

This might work in perfect conditions with not much traffic and few cyclists and pedestrians, though even then I'd be wary. But what happens if the weather gets bad? Does it pull over? And what about accidents? Does a screen with Musk pop up to tell the other driver it was their fault?
 
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