Autopilot introduction strategy

[lolder]

In the middle 1950's, there was a lot of buzz about stereo records. There was talk about standards, costs, etc and things weren't moving very fast. Suddenly a small niche company named Audio Fidelity released a stereo record of "The Dukes of Dixieland". It had an adhesive sticker on the album saying "Stereo". It had been made on a modified Westrex cutter. Simultaneously Electrovoice released a $23 ceramic stereo cartridge and stereo discs were born. Innovators do not wait for standards and industry consensus. They blow through the barriers at warp speed. That is what Tesla is trying to do with FSD.

I still have one of those first records. It has fine quality but somewhat low volume because they hadn't quite figured out a good algorithm for high volume low distortion in the cutter. That was solved in weeks. That was quite a ride much like the one we're on with Tesla now.

 

[tvad]

Put down the bong.

 

[croman]

FSD isn't the same as vinyl music. Please look into the subject matter. This isn't one problem it's 1000.

 

[diplomat33]

In the middle 1950's, there was a lot of buzz about stereo records. There was talk about standards, costs, etc and things weren't moving very fast. Suddenly a small niche company named Audio Fidelity released a stereo record of "The Dukes of Dixieland". It had an adhesive sticker on the album saying "Stereo". It had been made on a modified Westrex cutter. Simultaneously Electrovoice released a $23 ceramic stereo cartridge and stereo discs were born. Innovators do not wait for standards and industry consensus. They blow through the barriers at warp speed. That is what Tesla is trying to do with FSD.

I still have one of those first records. It has fine quality but somewhat low volume because they hadn't quite figured out a good algorithm for high volume low distortion in the cutter. That was solved in weeks. That was quite a ride much like the one we're on with Tesla now.

I really appreciate your enthusiasm. But FSD won't be quite so easy or straightforward.

Right now, Autopilot and NOA are quite good as a driver assist system. I would classify them as an advanced L2 system. But there is still a lot that Tesla needs to do before Autopilot could be considered a full autonomous driving system. Now, I am optimistic that Tesla will make progress. I expect we will get traffic light response and some rudimentary "automatic city driving" at some point in the not too distant future. Afterwards, I expect Tesla to refine and improve the features and make them more competent. But even a reliable "feature complete" system is far from a finished robotaxi. As we've learned from Waymo and others, even when you get a reliable prototype, there is still a lot of edge cases and counterfactual driving that still needs to be implemented before the car can be considered a truly driverless car. So, FSD is far from a "done deal".

But, yes, as a Tesla owner, I find the journey just as exciting as the destination. Getting software updates in each month and experiencing the incremental progress in AP first hand is a thrill.

 

[Darmie]

I will agree. Yes, more complex than a record but still the same concept, no reason for Tesla to wait on thing to happen.

 

[lolder]

Tesla is testing a lot of the edge cases with smart summon. FSD is much more complicated than a stereo record groove. Some very early records were about 1/4 inch thick and were recorded vertically. They became essentially unplayable when virtually all records became horizontally cut. Stereo cartridges could play them again. Horse drawn vehicles were mostly self driving and sometimes completely autonomous when heading for the barn.

 

[Darmie]

I think the OP was comparing how Tesla is triumphing forward and not waiting on any standard. I will say the future is Bright.