OT: hmm - interesting
Papi_Chulo
Miami, FL (or the nearest big-booty club)
When Tesla announced it would begin outfitting all of its cars with the hardware needed for fully autonomous driving, it also said it would not permit autonomous cars to be used for ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft.
This led to speculation that Tesla is still planning to go forward with its own ride-sharing network, recently hinted at in Tesla CEO Elon Musk's "Master Plan, Part Deux."
This is what the Plan said:
When true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. Once it picks you up, you will be able to sleep, read or do anything else enroute to your destination.
You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla. Since most cars are only in use by their owner for 5% to 10% of the day, the fundamental economic utility of a true self-driving car is likely to be several times that of a car which is not.
In cities where demand exceeds the supply of customer-owned cars, Tesla will operate its own fleet, ensuring you can always hail a ride from us no matter where you are.
On a conference call with Tesla executives Wednesday, one analyst asked if a so-called Tesla Network would be meant to help owners recoup the cost of a Tesla, or primarily a way for the company to make more money.
"I think it is a bit of both, really," Musk responded. "It would be something that would be a significant offset on the cost of ownership for a car, and a revenue generator for Tesla as well. Obviously, the majority of the economics would go to the owner of the car."
"Sometimes this has been characterized as Tesla versus Uber or Lyft or something like that," he said. "It's not Tesla versus Uber, it's the people versus Uber."
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/26/elon-musk…
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posting form tuscl the first thing I think is masturbate and fuck.
But if does happen it may be more convenient to not even have a car. Likewise space can be freed up with no longer needing parking garages. (Yay more space for SCs :)
What other things did engineers forget to program? The bridge out? A small section of dark road washed out? Flood waters right next to the road or bridge making it not safe to drive on? Flood waters about to wash over the road? Deer running towards the run in front of you? A big black panther running towards the run in front of you? A cow standing in the road that is hard to see? Rocks falling down a cliff that the car did not see or detect because no radar beams pointed up?
How does the car react if someone tries to ram you playing chicken or some crazy driver is having road rage and is angry at you for no good reason?
I have lots of questions and not much trust in new untested tech when my life is at risk.
However I would love to not worry about driving home late at night and falling asleep or watching out for deer or some other animal. I would also like it if I wasn't concerned about some vandal in the parking lot because I wouldn't own the car. Someone parks too close and dings the car with their car door, scratches it with car keys walking by or on purpose.
Just something I read the other day. Half inch thick glass could really cut tires and people if an accident broke it up. Their power assumptions didn't seem to factor in shade from lots of cars, trees, leaves and dirt. The idea that the road and parking lot could stay free of snow and ice seemed nice and a money saver but I wondered down to what temperature? Just some more new tech. I'm not too eager to pay someone to dig up my concrete driveway to replace it with a solar one just yet. Also who would pay for solar roads? How would people pay to charge up from public solar roads? Would they use wireless power transfers? That could end the whole distance on a charge fear and the wait to recharge.
A link. http://www.solarroadways.com/
I know an engineer in the middle of this industry, and his response is simply " the technology is not here yet ". Rain, snow, lighting, inclement weather, all these directly control the guidance and communication systems. Just putting cameras and sensors on the car doesn't address the core communication issues.
Why are they not testing this stuff in Minnesota winters? Florida rainstorms? When they are truly close to having it work, we'll be seeing the testing being done in hostile driving conditions. Until then....it ain't ready.
As far as true self driving cars, it will be decades before they are available, and then only after every road in the country is modified to accommodate them. it's easy to design a car with lane warnings and emergency braking, but true universal self driving is very, very difficult to code.
Tesla by doing this, washes their hands, legally from implication . . . perhaps. --> Maybe a lawyer could comment?
SJG
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions
(if so they'll probably be better than 90% of current reviews LOL)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-t…
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-otto-tr…
I did find the article worthwhile. I think part of the problem with today's economy and workforce is we rank and file (I am one) don't assume enough risk. We're too complacent. That's an over simplification, but it helps explain why the productivity gains are funnel into fewer hands. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordism
Ford substantially increased its workers' wages,[8] in order to combat rampant absenteeism and employee turnover which approached 400 percent annually, which had the byproduct of giving them the means to become customers.
In the glory days of Silicon Valley, plentiful manufacturing employment and housing still affordable, we had something like a Fordism, and non-union because workers were already doing well.
Aggressive people, a few community college classes, and always being able to command more and more pay.
Nothing whatsoever like that today.
Today, BS and MS grads, signing on to be corporate minions, taking what pay they can get. Though numerically large by most accounts, not enough to compensate for the insane housing costs. And culturally a pretty bleak environment.
SJG
Mark Knopfler - Brothers in arms [Berlin 2007]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBadAVsd…