General Discussion: 2018 Investor Roundtable

[AudubonB]

Regarding the “too dumb to drive” discussion, has anyone good data on the evolution of drivers’ ed in American schools? Compared, for example, to 10-20-30 years earlier? I was not hugely happy to learn of one state’s provisions for attaining first license: “Successful completion of driving school OR ___X___ number of hours driving with an adult supervisor”.

I also fear that the chronic budget crunches visiting most US states’ school systems, completely frivolous, time-wasting and societally non-beneficial programs like drivers’ ed have been axed to oblivion. Yes/No?????

 

[Todd Burch]

I'm starting to think people are too dumb to be allowed to use autopilot in it's current form. I'm also afraid government agencies will agree with me.
Tesla sedan in Autopilot mode hit a parked California police car

Damnit people! Quit being morons! Wtf? How do such stupid people own such expensive cars?

 

[Skryll]

Damnit people! Quit being morons! Wtf? How do such stupid people own such expensive cars?

Ha ha... but seriously. Maybe tesla needs to make Chill mode default drive mode and don't allow enabling autopilot until taking a free class at a tesla store. You can then still change it to sports mode to get proper performance.

This may become more important with Model 3 hitting a wider spectrum of drivers.

 

[skitown]

Ha ha... but seriously. Maybe tesla needs to make Chill mode default drive mode and don't allow enabling autopilot until taking a free class at a tesla store. You can then still change it to sports mode to get proper performance.

This may become more important with Model 3 hitting a wider spectrum of drivers.

I kind of like this idea. My folks have an S and are getting a 3 and they are getting up there in age - and I'd feel better about Chill being the default frankly so I don't have to talk them into it. Too, I think there could be an online tutorial you need to "Pass" (go through) in order to activate AutoPilot vs. going to a store.

 

[Todd Burch]

I’ve thought about the idea of a class to enable AP too, and think it’s a good idea. Hard to truly enforce (since other drivers could drive the car), but it’s a start.

 

[sdtslafan]

I kind of like this idea. My folks have an S and are getting a 3 and they are getting up there in age - and I'd feel better about Chill being the default frankly so I don't have to talk them into it. Too, I think there could be an online tutorial you need to "Pass" (go through) in order to activate AutoPilot vs. going to a store.

Yes, online tutorial is a GREAT idea. It should be required yearly so no one can feign ignorance. And it should be available to people who don't have a Tesla just so they can see what Tesla is doing to maximize safety.

Perhaps Tesla should require constant tension on the steering wheel. That could be super annoying though.

 

[Anstandswauwau]

I also fear that the chronic budget crunches visiting most US states’ school systems, completely frivolous, time-wasting and societally non-beneficial programs like drivers’ ed have been axed to oblivion. Yes/No?????

By European standards, current driver's ed in the US is like a cruel darwinistic joke anyway.

And I don't know how fellow Europeans feel about this, but I'm actually terrified driving on US roads. I had to do more emergency breakings driving around in Cali for two weeks than in my whole (driver's) lifetime in Europe. Completely nuts.

 

[neroden]

Anyone else surprised by the surprisingly lower number of weekly production numbers by the Bloomberg model 3 tracker now? We Set Out to Crack Tesla's Biggest Mystery: How Many Model 3s It's Making

I haven’t had a very high level of confidence in their day to day published number. Currently lists 1489 per week for me.

I think Bloomberg isn't getting the Canadian numbers, so the shift to Canadian deliveries (to maximize US tax credits) is throwing their estimator off.

 

[Mader Levap]

Damnit people! Quit being morons! Wtf? How do such stupid people own such expensive cars?

It is almost like being smart and being rich is unrelated.

AFAIK in Europe requirements for obtaining driving license are way more stringent than in USA. Results are obvious.

 

[adiggs]

Yes, online tutorial is a GREAT idea. It should be required yearly so no one can feign ignorance. And it should be available to people who don't have a Tesla just so they can see what Tesla is doing to maximize safety.

Perhaps Tesla should require constant tension on the steering wheel. That could be super annoying though.

Constant tension on the wheel is pretty easy to achieve. If you hook a finger one one of the cross pieces of the steering wheel, and let that support the weight of your arm / hand on the wheel, that's enough to handle the torque requirements on the wheel, having your hand on the wheel, and avoid getting any nags.

I rest my left arm on the arm rest, my hand / finger hooked over the left cross piece of the wheel, and routinely cover 10's of miles without a single nag. I'm going to test it out on a day trip in a week - I expect to cover most of the drive from Portland to San Francisco without a single nag.

 

[Todd Burch]

I’d be surprised if this incident was a result of inattention though. Looks like it took place in an urban environment.

I’m going to just assume the driver had a medical emergency so that I can retain some semblance of respect for the human race .

 

[neroden]

Regarding the “too dumb to drive” discussion, has anyone good data on the evolution of drivers’ ed in American schools? Compared, for example, to 10-20-30 years earlier?

Oh, it was abolished in the 1990s due to budget cuts. I got the last year of drivers' ed in my school in 1993 IIRC before it went away for good. Same thing happened throughout the country; everyone in my age bracket can tell you what year their school ended drivers' ed permanently.

There are still private driving schools... but the driver's license exams have ABYSMALLY low standards so most people never take much in the way of driving lessons. The written test has super easy questions and you can get a bunch of them WRONG and still get a license. It's absurd -- you can get a license while being a terrible driver. And it's basically impossible to lose your license for reckless driving.

 

[neroden]

Yes, online tutorial is a GREAT idea. It should be required yearly so no one can feign ignorance. And it should be available to people who don't have a Tesla just so they can see what Tesla is doing to maximize safety.

A live tutorial and test would be expensive for Tesla... but an online "Defensive Driving With Autopilot" course would be a pretty awesome idea. Tesla could team up with one of the existing online-defensive-driving-course providers to provide the tech to make sure the person wasn't just running the movie in the background while texting. And it would be a really useful thing to provide, as well as pretty cheap.

 

[TradingInvest]

Damnit people! Quit being morons! Wtf? How do such stupid people own such expensive cars?

Insurance can give people different rates based on their risk profile. Tesla should screen buyers and not sell autopilot feature to the high risk drivers.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

A live tutorial and test would be expensive for Tesla...

If only there were a way to get ...a screen... in front of every Tesla owner ...somehow...

...some way...

 

[Menifeer]

Damnit people! Quit being morons! Wtf? How do such stupid people own such expensive cars?

Regardless of the driver being at fault for not paying attention, these incidents will continue to get media attention as they occur, killing/injuring people and giving Tesla and self-driving black eyes.

It's unacceptable that the system does not respond to the imminent collision with a stationary object. Tesla needs to fix this situation as quickly as possible.

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

They need to geofence Autopilot to only appropriate highways.... also need to solve the stationary objects problem.

 

[sundaymorning]

I'm starting to think people are too dumb to be allowed to use autopilot in it's current form. I'm also afraid government agencies will agree with me.
Tesla sedan in Autopilot mode hit a parked California police car

Laguna beach is one of the worst place to utilize AP, small narrow streets with lots of parked cars, lane markings are horrible, big crowds of people. Tesla should disengage Autopilot on urban street areas like these.

 

[Words of HABIT]

Tesla is only giving VIN to customers one week in advance as opposed to 2.5 weeks previously?
Whatever the exact numbers Tesla has shortened the number of days between VIN assignment to customer and delivery.
It will take a few weeks for Bloomberg model to adjust.

For reference point I just received my VIN# one hour ago and my Toronto pick-up date is June 7th. Doing my best to add to Q2 profitability.
EDIT: VIN #300XX

 

[EinSV]

A live tutorial and test would be expensive for Tesla... but an online "Defensive Driving With Autopilot" course would be a pretty awesome idea. Tesla could team up with one of the existing online-defensive-driving-course providers to provide the tech to make sure the person wasn't just running the movie in the background while texting. And it would be a really useful thing to provide, as well as pretty cheap.

A Tesla "Online Defensive Driving With Autopilot" tutorial might help encourage people not to act like idiots, pay attention and keep their hands on the wheel and basically serve the same function as defensive driving classes that are currently available to all drivers (and reduce insurance rates with some insurers). It would also help make even clearer who is at fault when the driver fails to pay attention and maintain control of the vehicle (the driver).

AP will never perform perfectly so at the end of the day the public will eventually need to understand that these systems save lives, especially the lives of the reckless and inattentive drivers who are disproportionately responsible for all automobile collisions, Tesla or otherwise.

After all, seat belts do in fact kill people (by trapping them in cars that catch fire, for example). But they save many more lives so society accepts that risk. When I was a kid, many people refused to use seat belts due to the fear of being burned or drowned trapped by the seat belt in a car. Given the statistical evidence favoring seat belt use, that point of view appears to be going the way of the dodo, but hasn't disappeared entirely yet. Seatbelt victims Choice in Personal Safety