What a joke…B.C. bans self-driving vehicles on its roads

[CyberGus]

You can plot a direct line from that experience to me making sure I had a Tesla and was ready to go when FSD first came out in beta.

I see the "hidden satanic messages" were effective

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[dalton108]

Robotaxis will definitely impede demand for car ownership, particularly in dense urban areas, but I don't see car sales evaporating anytime soon.

San Francisco has BART, trains, busses, trolleys, taxis, and rideshares, and yet there's still no goddamn place to park lol.

There was a time when I thought the same way about this, but there are a few very compelling arguments I’ve heard that have made me curb my enthusiasm/expectations a bit.

1. People have car seats and other things that they don’t want to have to constantly clean out out of whatever Robotaxi they’re using. People like to have cars as their own space. Ask my wife, despite my protestations her car is usually just a mobile storage unit.

2. We haven’t really solved inclement weather and mobile autonomous charging yet.

3. The whole concept isn’t particularly compelling for rural people/areas.

 

[TexasDev]

Of course there is no place to park NOW, but what happens as more and more rely on RoboTaxis? Parking garages go extinct, no one is going to pay for parking any longer, when they no longer need to. This could take 3-5 years or longer, we'd have to consult the time traveler Elon for a closer estimate, but, it will transform cities, destroy ambulance chasers, mechanics, parts suppliers, car stealerships, the entire automotive industry is about to be transformed, they just don't know it yet ;-)

I don't see that happening to that extent. The good thing about autonomous vehicles is it doesn't change much, unlike public transportation. Yes more people will "rent" (ie pay on demand for rides) but the US is prosperous enough and we are independent so there will still be privately owned cars.

Only thing that will change is parking garages might be available, but still probably crowded.

That said, I don't live in a crowded city and I don't understand how people do, so what do I know.

That being said there are a number of reasons outside of location I wouldn't want an "on-demand" ride. If me or my family is hurt, I want to hop in immediately and drive, not wait for mr robot to finish delivering mr smith. Tons of other life scenarios one could add but lazy...

tldr: in my mind it's rent vs own just like housing. more people rent in the city but there's still plenty of owners (and operators / landlords)

 

[mitch9]

no point in arguing about RoboTaxi adoption, the same naysayers said cars would never catch on, who would ride in that infernal machine, lol. The classic is a picture of Times Square in 1904, and again in 1914. It's all horse drawn carriages in 1904, in 1914, you have to struggle to find the one horse in the picture. 10 years is all it took. Yes, people still own horses, but they don't use them for their everyday transportation any longer. With the issues everyone has with finances/struggling, giving up the "mobile junk mobile" will get 2nd & 3rd looks, and yes, car seats are another edge case, but Tesla is very smart, they will figure out a way to cater to young familes, such as a checkbox "send a Robotaxi with a car seat", or "I need a Model Y with 2 carseats in the rear", inovation is what Tesla is about

 

[CyberGus]

First CD I ever heard was at one of my rich kid friends house in 1986.

I too was awed by my first in-store demo of digital music, enough that I bought Sony's first portable CD player "D-5" (I think it got that name from the D-cell batteries required lol). It was over $300 (in 1985 dollars!) and I mowed a lotta lawns to put that together.

First CD? "News of the World" by Queen. They did, in fact, rock me.

 

[TexasDev]

no point in arguing about RoboTaxi adoption, the same naysayers said cars would never catch on, who would ride in that infernal machine, lol. The classic is a picture of Times Square in 1904, and again in 1914. It's all horse drawn carriages in 1904, in 1914, you have to struggle to find the one horse in the picture. 10 years is all it took. Yes, people still own horses, but they don't use them for their everyday transportation any longer. With the issues everyone has with finances/struggling, giving up the "mobile junk mobile" will get 2nd & 3rd looks, and yes, car seats are another edge case, but Tesla is very smart, they will figure out a way to cater to young familes, such as a checkbox "send a Robotaxi with a car seat", or "I need a Model Y with 2 carseats in the rear", inovation is all what Tesla is about

Yeah and hacker news / reddit constantly said starlink was useless. Now they all have it for burning man, travel, backup, etc. They constantly criticize Elon on *how* he gives it away for free to help in emergency disasters. It's funny.

As someone from a rural area, it was obvious that internet anywhere was a goldmine. Fuck hughesnet and similar sat providers.

 

[TyPope]

"Meanwhile, levels 3-5 of automation don't require a person to drive the car at all."
Level 3 requires driver to take over when prompted.

Level 3 does say "You are not driving..." but also "When the feature requests, you must drive." Confusing. But, I would say, a driver is needed for level 3 to take over.

 

[TyPope]

in a few years, when Tesla has lowered the per-mile cost of the RoboTaxi to around .50/mile, the Legacy automakers are litterally, toast. No THINKING person will EVER buy an ICE vehicle, or even an EV again, as the cost of the vehicle & financing, insurance, parking, maint, fuel exceeds .50/mile, the thinking people will at first not buy a 2nd car, then they will get rid of the 2nd car, then, after a bit, the smart ones will get rid of their ONLY vehicle... why pay more for getting around than you have to? There are of course special cases, for people who are in the trades, but for your ordinary shopping, doctors visits, and places most people go, its over for car ownership. period.

You are an idiot to think that everyone can and will want to ride in a rental/cab/taxi bullshit car. Screw that. I don't want to sit in someone else's car. I want my own space with my own crap in it. And, hey, I happen to be a thinking person.

I cringe every time someone says something along the lines of "everyone will just robotaxi" or "public transportation for all" bullshit. You can fkn keep that crap. I don't want it. A huge chunk of the population doesn't live in cities, you know.

I'd gladly pay more to have my own car. It's right there when I need it. Besides, no robotaxi is going to power my house when the power is out.

 

[TyPope]

Of course there is no place to park NOW, but what happens as more and more rely on RoboTaxis? Parking garages go extinct, no one is going to pay for parking any longer, when they no longer need to. This could take 3-5 years or longer, we'd have to consult the time traveler Elon for a closer estimate, but, it will transform cities, destroy ambulance chasers, mechanics, parts suppliers, car stealerships, the entire automotive industry is about to be transformed, they just don't know it yet ;-) Elon doesn't plan on just being another "ride share service", his plan is be be one of the lowest cost, automated ride share services out their, they can mfr tens of thousands of RoboTaxis/month, its only the charging & cleaning infrastructure that will limit it

and demand. You forgot about demand. Tesla can also produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year yet here we are...

 

[mitch9]

You are an idiot to think that everyone can and will want to ride in a rental/cab/taxi bullshit car. Screw that. I don't want to sit in someone else's car. I want my own space with my own crap in it. And, hey, I happen to be a thinking person.

I cringe every time someone says something along the lines of "everyone will just robotaxi" or "public transportation for all" bullshit. You can fkn keep that crap. I don't want it. A huge chunk of the population doesn't live in cities, you know.

I'd gladly pay more to have my own car. It's right there when I need it. Besides, no robotaxi is going to power my house when the power is out.

sorry, I no longer argue on the internet, no one "wins" and no one is changing their opinion.
will just have to give it some time to develop, the future will tell all. Yes of course, some oldtimers will never change, but you know what? thats why we have death, insures society doesn't fossilize.
I have young nephews who are in their 20's, they have zero desire to get a license, or a vehicle, they use friends,uber/lift, they live in the suburbs.. just some uncomfortable facts for you, the newer generations do not want to own cars, or drive.. Robotaxi isn't for us older generation, it is for the future generations, and that's what matters anyway

 

[mitch9]

and demand. You forgot about demand. Tesla can also produce 250,000 Cybertrucks a year yet here we are...

different animals, not everyone has $60-80K to drop on a vehicle, or even wants to.
Getting a ride in a RoboTaxi is a $10 investment, not comparable.

Tesla is the customer for the RoboTaxi, they won't build them until the demand exists, they are not selling these to anyone, yet.

 

[TyPope]

no point in arguing about RoboTaxi adoption, the same naysayers said cars would never catch on, who would ride in that infernal machine, lol. The classic is a picture of Times Square in 1904, and again in 1914. It's all horse drawn carriages in 1904, in 1914, you have to struggle to find the one horse in the picture. 10 years is all it took. Yes, people still own horses, but they don't use them for their everyday transportation any longer. With the issues everyone has with finances/struggling, giving up the "mobile junk mobile" will get 2nd & 3rd looks, and yes, car seats are another edge case, but Tesla is very smart, they will figure out a way to cater to young familes, such as a checkbox "send a Robotaxi with a car seat", or "I need a Model Y with 2 carseats in the rear", inovation is what Tesla is about

you've never had kids, I would bet. You can't just "have a car seat" and you are set. There's a metric shit-ton of stuff most will have in their car just in case. That stuff usually stays in the car until needed. No taxi can have all that. It's hardly an edge case.

 

[mitch9]

again, not everyone will change to RoboTaxi's, the business case doesn't need everyone to.
doesn't need %100 adoption, enough will to move the needle and absolutley destroy the automotive industry, just watch it unfold. regarding kids, nope, don't have them, don;'t want them, doesn't change anything though for the Robotaxi taking over transportation for the vast majority of people

 

[Jabman]

I too was awed by my first in-store demo of digital music, enough that I bought Sony's first portable CD player "D-5" (I think it got that name from the D-cell batteries required lol). It was over $300 (in 1985 dollars!) and I mowed a lotta lawns to put that together.

First CD? "News of the World" by Queen. They did, in fact, rock me.

This reminds me of my days working at Blockbuster. It was during the transition to DVDs from VHS. I remember customers question, “how do I rewind this? I don’t want to be charged for not rewinding it.” It was up to us to inform them that there was no need, Digital Video Discs don’t require physical rewinding.
Educating the masses is not an overnight achievement. It takes time and effort. A lot of people refuse to accept what is new because they don’t understand it, or don’t want to.
I use the Horse and Carriage analogy often when I’m explaining the transition from ICE to EV. At first, people laughed. Then, they cried out it was “dangerous!” “Mini explosions happening and you’re next to it?! I’ll never feel safe next to that thing and I’m certainly not riding around in it!” And then they realized, “wait, I can move faster and enjoy a manure-free ride to my destination? Interesting.”
It will happen. How long it takes is TBD, but claiming it’s not going to happen because it hasn’t happened yet, or it’s decades away when my car basically does everything from start to finish without me, is patently absurd.
I am not a technophile. Far from it. I’m actually more old fashioned than most and I have been and still am a Motörhead at heart. But I don’t keep my head the sand. The times, they are a changing. And we have to roll with it or become dust in the wind..
And if this was all TLDR (I only recently learned what that meant), then just remember:
Be Kind, and Rewind

 

[TyPope]

different animals, not everyone has $60-80K to drop on a vehicle, or even wants to.
Getting a ride in a RoboTaxi is a $10 investment, not comparable.

Tesla is the customer for the RoboTaxi, they won't build them until the demand exists, they are not selling these to anyone, yet.

Even though my employer pays workers for the Metro and (in my case) commuter bus and VRE train, the parkinglot here probably has a few thousand cars from daily commuters. In my case, it's more than 40 miles one-way. I'd rather pay for the luxury of my own car than be tied to someone else's timeline. I mean, I DID use the free commuting offer for a few months at first but that just isn't for me. Too restrictive.

Yes, I'm sure the robotaxi will do okay. Remember, you can't take more than 1 other person with you. Yes, I know that Tesla will use the Model Y for that purpose but we are talking about the RoboTaxi. just I don't see the majority of people giving up their free will to just ride around everywhere in a robotaxi much less all the thinking people.

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