All articles tagged with #autonomous driving
Tesla is moving toward a public rollout of its Starlink-enabled Cybercab in Austin, a pedal- and steering wheel-free two-seater that relies on Full Self-Driving; production is at Gigafactory Texas, employees are testing it on public roads, and a ride lottery suggests a late-2026 launch, though no firm date has been announced.
Rivian’s Autonomy+ shows strong highway hands-free driving and safety guardrails, pursuing parity with Tesla FSD, but nonhighway and city driving remain behind; Rivian plans lidar and point-to-point driving later, while Tesla already handles city streets in many cases; both require drivers to stay alert, with Rivian priced at $49.99/month or $2,500 upfront and Tesla at $99/month.
Tesla posted a weak Q2 with operating income of $398 million, well below expectations of about $1.7 billion, due to weaker pricing, less favorable vehicle mix, lower regulatory credits, higher costs, and more R&D spending. The bigger issue is investor doubting Musk’s ability to translate his long-run vision into near-term profitability, evidenced by a ~14% drop in the stock after the report and muted price-target moves. Analysts see ongoing capex for future pillars like robo-taxis and humanoid robot ventures as a transition that could squeeze current margins, meaning the market is repricing Tesla away from the “Musk premium” until tangible results arrive. Still, SpaceX and other Musk ventures support high valuation, underscoring the need for clear, profitable progress on future revenue streams.
Tesla is set to report Q2 2026 results with expected revenue of about $25.71 billion and 51¢ per share as auto deliveries rise 25% YoY to over 480,000, though the stock is down for the year. The company has been cutting prices on lower-cost Model 3/Y variants and expanding driver-assistance features, while shifting toward robotics and AI with plans for Optimus humanoid robots, the Cybercab, and a Terafab chip factory with Intel in Texas. Investors will look for updates on autonomy technology and how Tesla and SpaceX may collaborate amid competition from Chinese EV makers and questions about robotaxi timelines.
The NTSB’s preliminary report found the Tesla Model 3 accelerated to more than 70 mph after the driver manually overrode Full Self-Driving by pressing the accelerator to 100%, in Katy, Texas, killing Martha Avila; the driver is facing manslaughter charges.
Waymo will begin offering fully driverless robotaxi rides in four new U.S. cities—San Diego, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Denver—starting with employee pilots before a broader public rollout, expanding its lead in the U.S. autonomous-vehicle market; the company plans London service later this year and had about 4,000 robotaxis in its fleet as of May.
Tesla is releasing FSD v14 Lite to HW3/AI3 cars, a compact version of the newer HW4-based v14 that distills input from AI4 into HW3. It adds features like starting FSD from Park, automatic Reverse/Drive transitions, Arrival Options, and always-on Speed Profiles, plus improved responsiveness, lane-centering, and smoother behavior—though some v14 features (Smart Summon upgrades, the standalone Self-Driving app, and dynamic parking-pin adjustments) are omitted due to hardware limits. The rollout began with early-access testers on software 2026.20.5.1, with broader rollout after validation. Tesla notes HW3 cannot reach unsupervised autonomy and a hardware upgrade path to HW4+/AI5 is planned later; v15 Lite is unlikely. International rollout will follow validation, potentially in EU, Australia, NZ, and Korea in coming weeks.
Tesla has begun rolling out FSD v14 Lite to Hardware 3 cars (AI3), a supervised Level 2 update that distills HW4’s v14 guidance into the HW3 stack to improve city navigation, safety, and added parking/reversing features. The rollout starts with early-access drivers, with a wider release expected in the coming weeks; unsupervised autonomy remains unavailable on HW3, and the update does not fulfill the original promise of full self-driving.
Over two weeks with HW4 and FSD V14 in a 2026 Model Y, the author reports major progress: FSD V14 can start trips, back out of driveways, and navigate with modes from Sloth to Mad Max, effectively acting as a chauffeur while requiring supervision. GPS/map accuracy remains a bottleneck (about 15 feet) with occasional misdirections and parking challenges, especially in garages or lots. The system relies on visible-light cameras (no radar), won’t handle severe weather well, and steering assist requires a $99/month subscription. There are several features still on the wishlist. Overall, notable improvement, but not fully hands-off autonomy yet.
Waymo has begun offering limited free rides in its new Ojai robotaxi—the first purpose-built Waymo vehicle—with the 6th-generation Driver across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The Ojai emphasizes rider experience and accessibility, features a spacious rear cabin and easier entry, and uses a redesigned hardware stack that cuts sensors by about 42% while increasing capability, enabling snow operation and lowering unit costs to under $20,000. Waymo has now surpassed 20 million autonomous trips in 11 cities and plans broader geographic and production expansion from its Arizona factory to tens of thousands of units per year, while continuing to scale to additional markets beyond the initial three.
Chinese automakers, led by Huawei-backed Maextro with its S800, are pushing into the luxury EV space by offering advanced software, autonomy, and lower prices to take on Rolls‑Royce, Mercedes‑Maybach and BMW, signaling a rising upmarket challenge to European ultra-luxury brands.
Beijing Auto Show 2026 set a record for size and premieres, signaling a shift in which China leads electrification and AI-enabled driving across price tiers. The show showcased high-tech features like lidar, drive-by-wire, and AI chips across affordable and flagship models—from XPeng’s Level 4-focused GX and Li Auto’s L9 Livis, to Geely’s robotaxi EVA Cab and a wave of affordable lidar-equipped EVs. Global automakers partner with Chinese suppliers (Huawei, ByteDance, Momenta, Qualcomm), VW rolls out a range-extended ID. Era 9X, and even a flying-car “land carrier” by Aridge. With Xiaomi’s Vision Gran Turismo concept and other bold concepts, the event underscores China’s rising dominance in EV tech, AI, and new mobility formats rather than a cheap-versus-premium divide.
Elon Musk acknowledged that Tesla’s Hardware 3 cannot deliver unsupervised Full Self-Driving, contradicting years of promises; the company is shifting to Hardware 4 and possible retrofits, but execution timelines, costs, and ongoing legal actions are weighing on investors and raising questions about autonomy timelines and the stock.
Tesla’s upcoming Q1 report is expected to show about $22.2 billion in revenue with earnings around 37 cents a share, but investors are focusing on the company’s long‑term bets—robotaxi expansion, humanoid robots, and potential SpaceX ties—over the near‑term results, amid questions about scaling, regulatory hurdles, and the pace of rollout in new cities.
Tesla’s robotaxi service began in Dallas, but a rider’s experience exposed ongoing reliability and safety concerns: after a long app wait, the vehicle navigated city streets, missed an exit, and briefly pulled onto an 80–90 mph highway before a human operator took over and steered it off. The 11-mile, 54-minute ride wandered to the wrong location and a hotel loop before being redirected, costing about $18. The incident illustrates the promise of autonomous ride-hailing alongside persistent glitches and skepticism about readiness for everyday use.