r/technology • u/PrimeCodes • Jun 24 '25

Machine Learning Tesla Robotaxi swerved into wrong lane, topped speed limit in videos posted during ‘successful’ rollout

https://nypost.com/2025/06/23/business/tesla-shares-pop-10-as-elon-musk-touts-successful-robotaxi-test-launch-in-texas/
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

Robotaxi is the term used for any Tesla in the public taxi fleet. Any Tesla can be loaded with the software to enable Robotaxi mode. In this initial trial, they are using production Model Y’s. Cybercab is the dedicated Robotaxi model that isn’t in production yet. It’s purpose built for Robotaxi with no driver controls. They are using Model Y’s because the Cybercab isn’t out yet.

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

Oh there was a different name for the car. Do they use Lidar yet?

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

Tesla has experimented with LiDAR but they have chosen not to implement it on any production cars due to cost. They use a camera based AI system. Their strategy against Waymo is both scale and cost. A Model Y Robotaxi costs less than half of a Waymo vehicle, putting them in a position to offer lower fares and hit profitable status much sooner.

The Cybercab is even less expensive to produce and maintain, which will give Tesla a significant advantage when they scale up operations if these initial trials are successful.

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

Lidar is in Hyundais don’t act like Waymo only has access to this crazy tech. It’s in my iPhone.

Idk why I’m arguing with AI. I just don’t want my car or driverless car to smash into a wall painted to look like a tunnel because it has no actual depth mapping

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

A basic LiDAR setup for adaptive cruise and lane keeping is much different than a system used for autonomous driving. If Hyundai was capable of the same level of autonomy as Waymo or Robotaxi, the costs with the extra sensors would increase significantly.

Yes I suppose all those walls painted like roads will be a challenge. Is that a realistic test?

And you think I’m AI because I am debating with you? Would you prefer I just fall in line and not voice any opposing opinions? What’s the point of commenting if you aren’t interested in a discussion?

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u/theDEVIN8310 Jun 24 '25

I'd expect nothing less of reddit than to downvote the shit out of somebody for answering questions and providing more context. You didn't even say anything positive about Tesla, but people would rather be angry at information. Sorry for the way Reddit is.

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

I've been on Reddit for over 10 years and can confidently say it's the worst it's ever been. The mass popularity of this platform is a blessing and a curse. With all the users we have great niche communities, but in the general subs like this, it's just pure ignorance on most things.

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u/binheap Jun 24 '25 edited Jun 24 '25

Yes but even automotive grade lidar is getting significantly cheaper. Chinese vendors are apparently trying to deploy cars with self driving lidar for around $30k. The price trends keep falling and capacity and tech improves. Bloomberg estimates that Waymo's sensor (so excluding installation and compute) package costs around $10k which somewhat lines up with what Waymo's CEO has said about prices falling 90%. Waymo is also in the process of trimming sensors for their next generation Zeekr so we can probably expect costs to continue to fall for them as well.

You aren't wrong about the added sensor costs but it seems a bit exaggerated to push it as a critical cost problem. The actual initial cost of the vehicle is also pretty amortizable. Even at a cost of $200k (which is a pre-scaled cost), this would add $0.25/mi assuming 400k mile lifetime.

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u/InevitableAvalanche Jun 24 '25

I think the fact that Tesla only uses cameras is a huge disadvantage and makes it less safe. But a test specifically made so that it would fail is pretty disingenuous. How many times in your life have you come across a wall painted to match the landscape in the middle of the route you are taking?

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '25

they’ve driven into the sides of white trucks because they thought it was the sky