A Song of “Full Self-Driving”: Elon Isn’t Tony Stark. He’s Michael Scott.

a year ago

Elon Musk has repeatedly promised Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities for Tesla vehicles over the years, but these promises have consistently been delayed.
Tesla's FSD approach relies solely on cameras ('vision-only'), rejecting lidar and radar technologies, which has led to safety concerns and increased crashes.
Waymo, Google's autonomous vehicle division, has successfully implemented a hybrid approach using cameras, detailed maps, and lidar, operating driverless taxis in multiple cities.
Tesla's upcoming Robotaxi launch in Austin involves only 10-20 modified Model Y vehicles, which may not be fully autonomous and could rely on remote human supervisors.
Musk's decisions are driven by cost-cutting and ideology rather than engineering best practices, leading to skepticism about Tesla's ability to deliver true autonomous driving.
The article critiques the broader trend of tech executives like Musk and Microsoft's Satya Nadella prioritizing appearances and shareholder value over tangible results and safety.
Musk's vision of the future is described as outdated, rooted in 1980s cyberpunk rather than current technological realities, leading to repeated failures and missteps.

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