EvilNuff
Member
More and more people are starting to realize that their current tech stack will not be suitable for full robotaxi autonomy. But it isn't 8-10 years it will never be suitable, there are just too many problems. Also keep in mind to function as a robotaxi will require level 5 not level 4, you have to "solve" self driving to 100%, not 95%, not 99%, not 99.9%...100% That "solving" is an exponential curve of difficulty, if Tesla is incredibly lucky they are about half way there (AND they need to change the hardware to accomodate the shortcomings with the current hardware.) So...never with the current tech stack....The irony is that it's becoming more and more evident (at least to me) that Pure Vision will not succeed in reaching L4 by itself, at least not for another 8-10 years. Adding lidar + radars to the sensor suite could likely accelerate Tesla L4 by several years, by shoring up the inherent deficiencies of pure vision, which are mostly to do with difficult environmental conditions or compromised image quality, exacerbated by the camera lenses being immovable and pressed right up against the glass (unlike human heads).
So the idea that Tesla may add lidar + radar back to HW5 next year (and I expect they very likely will to Robotaxi), ...
The catch 22 that they are in is their current solution cannot work (and even if Elon is in denial there absolutely are members of the FSD software team who know this) and they cannot admit this because of the liability of having sold FSD. They can't just add an extra $1k+ in hardware for a robotaxi vehicle because then anyone who bought FSD is going to be owed that hardware.
No matter how you look at it FSD can only end in a class action lawsuit against Tesla costing the company tens or hundreds of millions.