Many automakers are looking to directly supply and operate car services for autonmous cars - maybe Uber is trying to give autonomous cars a black-eye to delay anyone from entering the market by acting in a way that will increase regulation of all parties. That could give them more time to operate their current platform?
Uber doesn't stand to make any money by doing that. Drivers are a huge expense for Uber. Assuming they get these self driving cars with a bulk discount, the cost of not having to pay drivers would quickly offset the price of the cars.
If anything, after hearing that Uber lost $800m in Q3, I'd say they want these self driving cars badly so they can finally become profitable.
Last year when Uber raised nearly $5B many were asking why they needed so much money. I responded both Uber and AirBnB were amassing a legal warchest. I believe they are willing to innovate their way while piling up casualties and having enough ammunition to win a war of attrition.
There's the danger to nearby people on foot or bicycle, and the prospect that they or their relatives will sue for lots of money. I very much misunderstand the differences between here and California, Open defiance of basic traffic safety tends to get shut down and taken off the road.
If a fleet of vehicles are deemed not safe to drive on the public roads, then telling the traffic authorities "as an important issue of principle, we reject your authority" it won't end with you driving them around freely, will it? And I would be surprised if you're allowed to drive them around freely while a court case is pending. Cars do get pulled off the road, impounded and towed.
It's hard to see how Uber thinks that this will go well. Am I missing something?
I think Tesla is the only one close to getting data for self driving in Amsterdam (a big part of the taxis in Amsterdam are Teslas).
Good luck for the others going from SF or London where biking is a sport for hipsters in special high visibility clothes, to Amsterdam or even worse... New Delhi, where people just cycle/drive far less concerned with how the algorithm thinks roads are supposed to be used. Or take Paris as another example of a much more "swarm" based approach to driving in very busy areas.
A big step for self driving cars is learning to deal with the chaotic approach that a lot of humans take, instead of the very wide lanes, slow driving (far slower than Europe, with generally a much bigger turn radius) and strict rules that the US is used to.
The way Uber operates, they will probably shift the problem to bicycles and pedestrians by requiring them to carry some form of marker that can easily be read by their cars...
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[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 36.7 ms ] threadIf anything, after hearing that Uber lost $800m in Q3, I'd say they want these self driving cars badly so they can finally become profitable.
There's the danger to nearby people on foot or bicycle, and the prospect that they or their relatives will sue for lots of money. I very much misunderstand the differences between here and California, Open defiance of basic traffic safety tends to get shut down and taken off the road.
If a fleet of vehicles are deemed not safe to drive on the public roads, then telling the traffic authorities "as an important issue of principle, we reject your authority" it won't end with you driving them around freely, will it? And I would be surprised if you're allowed to drive them around freely while a court case is pending. Cars do get pulled off the road, impounded and towed.
It's hard to see how Uber thinks that this will go well. Am I missing something?
Good luck for the others going from SF or London where biking is a sport for hipsters in special high visibility clothes, to Amsterdam or even worse... New Delhi, where people just cycle/drive far less concerned with how the algorithm thinks roads are supposed to be used. Or take Paris as another example of a much more "swarm" based approach to driving in very busy areas.
A big step for self driving cars is learning to deal with the chaotic approach that a lot of humans take, instead of the very wide lanes, slow driving (far slower than Europe, with generally a much bigger turn radius) and strict rules that the US is used to.