Why Are News Organizations Giving Any Credence to Elon Musk’s Claims About Tesla’s Previewed Self-Driving Taxi and Bus?

Abhirup Roy and Akash Sriram, reporting for Reuters:

CEO Elon Musk showcased on Thursday a long-awaited robotaxi with two gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals and surprised with robovan, betting on a shift in focus from low-priced mass-market cars to robotic vehicles. At a glitzy unveiling, Musk reached the stage in a “Cybercab” to be produced from 2026 — eventually in high volume — and priced under $30,000. He then introduced the robovan which can carry up to 20 people though offered few further details.

But Musk, who has a record of missing projections — and himself said he tended to be optimistic with time frames — did not say how quickly Tesla could ramp up robotaxi production, clear inevitable regulatory hurdles or implement a business plan to leapfrog robotaxi rivals such as Alphabet’s Waymo.

Even with the disclaimer of Musk’s “record of missing projections”, this is far too much credence. The availability dates, the prices — they’re all just made up. It’s a complete distraction from the fact that Tesla is way behind. Waymo is actually operating in four cities today. Somewhere in San Francisco or Austin, there’s probably a Daring Fireball reader reading this post while riding in a self-driving Waymo.

Wake me up when Tesla ships any of these vehicles. Until then, stop using the present tense about any of it. It’s all vaporware for now. (And the stock market isn’t buying it — on a day when markets are flat, Tesla is down 8 percent as I type. Update: It closed down close to 9 percent for the day.)

Also: How stupid is a two-seat taxi? “Well, there are three of us, so we better hail two rides...” It makes no sense.

★ Friday, 11 October 2024