Imagine a taxi that can’t operate in the rain. That is what Tesla has delivered in Austin TX.

These riders learned that the hard way, but don’t have anything particularly negative to say about it… That’s the advantage of only making a Robotaxi service available to hand-picked Tesla influencers.

  • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    I wonder if anyone actually watched the video…

    The car dropped them off at their planned location. They were told service may not be available for the next ride due to weather, but they did get another car in the end anyway. They were forced to exit at the end of the ride as everyone is. Then they got another ride. They weren’t dumped.

    Edit: Would they be dumped, it’s possible, but that’s not what happened here.

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        For sure. Its actually even worse, in the ‘article’ it says their ride was cancelled.

        Well, the Tesla Robotaxi cancels your fare and drops you off in the rain, that’s what happens. Seriously! Can’t make this stuff up

        Except… YOU CAN make it up!

  • Xande@discuss.tchncs.de
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    9 days ago

    First thing that should be done… slap a “replacing a worker with a machine” tax, before we even think about having autonomous cars as cabs.

    • MangoCats@feddit.it
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      9 days ago

      Don’t call it a special tax, call it an incentive for industries which pay fair living wages for employees. Everybody pays the same tax rate, but if you employ people the cost of employing those people can be partially rebated to your business (from the taxes it pays.)

  • parody@lemmings.world
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    10 days ago

    Distracting af. Anyone have a copy of the video without such noisy ball gargling throughout?

    • KayLeadfoot@fedia.ioOP
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      9 days ago

      Literally every single Robotaxi ride has some asshole babbling throughout, glazing Elon Musk as the taxi is bouncing off curbs or dumping them when it starts raining.

      The PR play from Tesla here is really, really obnoxious.

      The worst part? It’s working. Mainstream media is reporting that early rider reactions are enthusiastic, without mentioning that early riders are exclusively Tesla fandom podcasters.

  • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
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    9 days ago

    Rain in urban areas is only condition where biking (or sometimes walking) is not sufficiently pleasant to get there faster and cheaper. Busy time for taxis.

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      10 days ago

      Google (Waymo) already has an entire fleet of autonomous vehicles available for hire in Austin and many other cities. Amazon (Zoox) has been testing on the roads in Austin for over a year now. Both have thus far seemed to be doing really well from a safety perspective. But then again, like VW, they’re using lidar and can see through rain, fog, and night.

      From a business perspective, Google and Amazon have diverse revenue streams and the deepest pockets imaginable, and will crush Tesla, whose only other sources of revenue are actively drying up.

  • 4grams@awful.systems
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    9 days ago

    This shit is so bonkers stupid it’s broken my brain. Who fucking cares about driverless cabs, who hasn’t been on a theme park ride in the last 10 years and hasn’t seen driverless cars coming. Big fucking deal, was the world screaming for more cabs? What is materially is better about a cab ride with someone sitting in the passenger seat, vs. the drivers seat?

    I get its innovation, and inevitable, so who fucking cares about the hype. Why do these fuckers care about the aesthetics of their cab ride? IMHO, without a driver, I want to see a fucking ectomobile of sensors, that would be beauty to me, being able to see the shit that’s keeping me safe.

    Ugh, everything is so goddamned stupid, we have become so goddamned easy to impress. Fine, we can have all the future shit that the movies promised, but what will it actually do, what will it actually solve?

    A robotaxi solves ONE issue, the cost of paying a driver. That is not something that impacts me, so who fucking cares. I like having a stranger to talk to while I ride, nice getting some new perspective.

    • lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I totally agree.

      Remember when the price of groceries came down because of all the self-checkouts? Like, are his taxis going to be significantly cheaper than other providers? If not, why would I use them?

      I really think the investors who are like “Tesla shares are worth $450 each because of robotaxis” really haven’t thought this one through. A driverless taxi is only better for the Taxi company. The experience for the user is worse in every way. If you want to charge the same as a regular taxi, your service has to be better. Who is going to help me with my luggage? Uh oh, storm clouds. I guess I will WALK IN THE RAIN.

      I know there are some real idiots out there, but let’s break down the characteristics of a Tesla robotaxi customer:

      • must be stupid
      • must like walking in bad weather / getting stranded in random locations
      • must like paying more for less
      • must be ok with nazis

      I’m no stock analyst, but I am confident in my $0.00 valuation of Tesla shares.

      • 4grams@awful.systems
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        9 days ago

        Right. I’m not against driverless taxis, but they are just another thing that does an already solved job. Maybe it will be a wee bit cheaper, maybe not, but at the end of the day, it’s not me, the user or the service, that these things are for. They are for the cab companies to make bigger profits, maybe pass some savings on to us (not likely, in fact I’ll bet a dollar they charge a premium).

        I just don’t get why the hype cycle has captured everyone. Woo, a computer can drive a car, neat… I that’s all the reaction it needs.

        • KayLeadfoot@fedia.ioOP
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          9 days ago

          They currently charge a flat rate of $4.20 per ride :|

          Not joking. Is real. Will be replaced by a real number, they’ll probably ease their way up to Uber pricing to reinforce that they are the “cheap” option, and then jack up the price (just like Uber did)

          • MangoCats@feddit.it
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            9 days ago

            Whatever they charge, you can assume it will be optimized to gain market control (not share) and once they have market control they will begin charging whatever the market will bear.

          • lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world
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            9 days ago

            I gotta admit, under 5 bucks is a pretty good deal and definitely cheaper than i expected. i can’t imagine they’re profitable at that price, though.

      • MangoCats@feddit.it
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        9 days ago

        are his taxis going to be significantly cheaper than other providers? If not, why would I use them?

        I had that one taxi driver in Philadelphia who took me on a 40 minute tour of the city for a 6 minute hop from my hotel to the place I needed to be. Running red lights, making wild lane changes across traffic… he was an anomaly, but one you don’t quickly forget. Then there are the taxi drivers from SFO to downtown San Francisco doing 80-85 in their clapped out 680,000 mile Caprices. The fact that there aren’t crumpled yellow Caprices lining the sides of the expressway is small comfort as you bounce along on completely dysfunctional shock absorbers flying after every pothole - occasional sparks flying on the touchdowns. I’ve taken that ride a half dozen times across a span of 20 years, it’s always been like that for me.

        • lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          Yeah, at least the Teslas are new (right now). I haven’t had the same experience with shoddy cabs, but i am in a different part of the world. I can see the appeal of being in a newer, cleaner vehicle.

  • Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    10 days ago

    For anyone wondering waymos (Google driverless cars) handle rain just fine as far as I’ve seen, and they have service in Austin. Idk why you would ever choose to take a tesla taxi.