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Brupal · 09-02-2025, 11:09 AM

Interesting that you mentioned costs, Bizaro86. Yes, Waymo currently offers driverless ride sharing, I’m actually envious that you have had the chance to experience it, sadly I have not. We can debate whether using cameras and neural net software is better than cameras and lidar and radar in a different post but when it comes to cost Waymo is at a disadvantage. While it’s true lidar sensors are not overly expensive what happens when you have a conflict between what your lidar sensor says and your camera says? Quick, lives are on the line. You can’t wait, you have to go with one or the other. Which is it going to be? Click - you go with the camera because it sees what is in front of you. That is why Tesla chose to go with camera only driving, because too many inputs can lead to distortion and you have to go with one. But setting the technology aside, currently it costs Tesla approximately $30,000 to make a Model Y which comes equipped with FSD software which Tesla can turn on for free and put that vehicle out into the fleet and start earning robotaxi fares. Whereas Waymo, who doesn’t manufacture its own vehicles, has to buy a Jaguar iPace for about $90,000 (and sadly for Waymo Jaguar no longer makes the iPace), and then Waymo has to buy 13 cameras, 4 lidar sensors and 6 radar sensors, and then it has to retrofit them to the Jaguars (that it didn’t build) before it can add that vehicle to the fleet. Such a platform is not easily scalable. Waymo has approximately 2000 vehicles currently capable of operating as robotaxis. Every model Y that rolls off the assembly line (about one million per year) is ready to go as a robotaxi. Tesla will be able to roll out robotaxis into many cities quickly - much faster than Waymo, and capture market share before the competition can. And given the significant cost advantage, Tesla could charge far less than whatever Waymo chooses to charge, and still do so profitably. I hope Waymo and other companies are able to provide autonomous ride sharing and self driving vehicles, but currently likely only Tesla has the ability to do so profitably and that means they will likely succeed while others may not. We shall see. But along the way our roads will be safer for all of us as fewer impaired and just generally bad drivers are out there.

09-02-2025, 11:09 AM	#5249
Brupal Crash and Bang Winger Join Date: Oct 2013 Exp:	Interesting that you mentioned costs, Bizaro86. Yes, Waymo currently offers driverless ride sharing, I’m actually envious that you have had the chance to experience it, sadly I have not. We can debate whether using cameras and neural net software is better than cameras and lidar and radar in a different post but when it comes to cost Waymo is at a disadvantage. While it’s true lidar sensors are not overly expensive what happens when you have a conflict between what your lidar sensor says and your camera says? Quick, lives are on the line. You can’t wait, you have to go with one or the other. Which is it going to be? Click - you go with the camera because it sees what is in front of you. That is why Tesla chose to go with camera only driving, because too many inputs can lead to distortion and you have to go with one. But setting the technology aside, currently it costs Tesla approximately $30,000 to make a Model Y which comes equipped with FSD software which Tesla can turn on for free and put that vehicle out into the fleet and start earning robotaxi fares. Whereas Waymo, who doesn’t manufacture its own vehicles, has to buy a Jaguar iPace for about $90,000 (and sadly for Waymo Jaguar no longer makes the iPace), and then Waymo has to buy 13 cameras, 4 lidar sensors and 6 radar sensors, and then it has to retrofit them to the Jaguars (that it didn’t build) before it can add that vehicle to the fleet. Such a platform is not easily scalable. Waymo has approximately 2000 vehicles currently capable of operating as robotaxis. Every model Y that rolls off the assembly line (about one million per year) is ready to go as a robotaxi. Tesla will be able to roll out robotaxis into many cities quickly - much faster than Waymo, and capture market share before the competition can. And given the significant cost advantage, Tesla could charge far less than whatever Waymo chooses to charge, and still do so profitably. I hope Waymo and other companies are able to provide autonomous ride sharing and self driving vehicles, but currently likely only Tesla has the ability to do so profitably and that means they will likely succeed while others may not. We shall see. But along the way our roads will be safer for all of us as fewer impaired and just generally bad drivers are out there.