A hacker has revealed that Tesla has launched a brand new information gathering across the website the place it plans to unveil its Robotaxi subsequent month.
It’s elevating questions on what the automaker goes to exhibit on the occasion.
Whereas most different self-driving experience companies, like Waymo and Cruise, concentrate on making their system work in geo-fenced metropolis areas utilizing mapping, Tesla has at all times claimed to distinguish itself by having a broader strategy that includes creating a self-driving system nearer to how human drives – that means that it might nearly drive wherever with out pre-mapping the world and even having an web connection.
Tesla goals to develop a system that may drive like people, changing eyes and brains with cameras and neural nets.
The automaker will not be fairly there regardless of its CEO, Elon Musk, claiming that Tesla would obtain this by the top of yearly since 2018.
Tesla first unveiled its plans for a self-driving system with a video demonstration again in 2016.
The video has since change into actually controversial as a result of it was produced through the use of a predetermined route that was 3D mapped forward of time. Tesla additionally ran that route a number of occasions to optimize the efficiency.
In testimony as a part of a lawsuit over this case, Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software program at Tesla, confirmed that it wasn’t consultant of the capabilities of Tesla’s system on the time:
“The intent of the video was to not precisely painting what was obtainable for purchasers in 2016. It was to painting what was attainable to construct into the system.”
This led many individuals to assert that the video was “faked” or “staged.”
Eight years later, Tesla is now getting ready to carry an identical launch, however this time is for its “Robotaxi”, a devoted self-driving automobile platform for autonomous ridesharing.
We not too long ago discovered that Tesla plans to carry the occasion subsequent month on the Warner Bros studio in Los Angeles.
Inexperienced, a well known Tesla hacker who usually reveals details about Tesla by going by way of the supply code of its software program updates, has now revealed that Tesla has launched new information assortment marketing campaign referred to as “WB Studio” to collect additional information within the space the place it plans to unveil the Robotaxi subsequent month:
Tesla makes use of its buyer fleet to collect street and driving information, which it makes use of to enhance its neural nets that energy its self-driving system.
Nonetheless, some consider that is Tesla pulling the identical trick as with the 2016 self-driving video.
Current experiences have amplified this suspicion. Tesla insiders not too long ago reported that Tesla targeted its information annotation sources on routes taken by Elon Musk and different ‘VIPs’, who had been usually Tesla influencers who posted FSD movies.
Electrek’s Take
Realizing Tesla, the Robotaxi unveiling is not going to be so simple as exhibiting a brand new automobile designed to function a robotaxi service. It’ll seemingly contain some demonstration of the automobile’s functionality.
I believe it’s truthful to have some considerations about Tesla exhibiting a stage of capability, like they did in 2016, that the automobile continues to be unable to realize in its buyer model 8 years later.
I’m not saying that the identical factor goes to occur with the Robotaxi, however a robotaxi automobile will not be actually helpful in case you haven’t solved self-driving but. Tesla might want to present progress on that entrance and proper now, the information from the FSD program will not be exhibiting a number of progress.
The opposite choice is for Tesla to launch a geo-fenced robotaxi service like Waymo. That might clarify the extra particular information assortment, however it will even be Tesla backing away from what makes its self-driving system completely different from the competitors.
