Tesla Robot Taxis?

Elon Musk must feel sorry for those exploited, underpaid Uber drivers. He wants to replace them with self-driving robot taxis. By next year.

“I feel very confident predicting 1 million autonomous robo-taxis for Tesla next year. Not in all jurisdictions because we won’t have regulatory approval everywhere, but I’m confident we will have regulatory approval at least somewhere, literally next year.”

— “Elon Musk says Tesla will have 1 million autonomous taxis on the road by next year,” Michael Burke, The Hill

More:

“Elon Musk thinks Tesla can build 1M ‘robotaxis’ in the next year,” Cale Guthre Weissman, Fast Company

“Tesla’s 2020 self-driving car promise sounds too good to be true because it is,” Emily Stewart, Recode

Update:

“Tesla’s long-shot robotaxi plan,” Joann Muller, Axios

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Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tesla Self-Driving System Fooled by Stickers on Pavement

Researchers from Tencent Keen Security Lab successful attacked Tesla’s self-driving system, fooling it by placing small stickers near traffic lane markers in the roadway.

“…[T]hey were able to use ‘small stickers’ on the ground to effect a ‘fake lane attack’ that fooled the autopilot into steering into the opposite lanes where oncoming traffic would be moving. This worked even when the targeted vehicle was operating in daylight without snow, dust or other interference.”

— “Small stickers on the ground trick Tesla autopilot into steering into opposing traffic lane,” Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

This was anticipated by James Bridle‘s 2017 video work “Autonomous Trap 001, a work-in-progress” (above).

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Slow Driver In the Left Lane: Don’t Be That Guy!

“Why You Shouldn’t Drive Slowly in the Left Lane.” A Vox video by Christophe Haubursin and Joseph Stromberg.

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Parking

“Why we should pay more for free parking.” A Guardian video.

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Driving Home for Christmas

“Driving Home For Christmas,” written and performed by Chris Rea. Another version is here. Despite 24 albums and 72 hit singles in the UK, the British artist is not well-known in the USA.

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From Boxy to Curvy

In the 1970s, cars were big boxes. When did they start to look like root vegetables? Vox explains. More here.

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Liberté, Fraternité, Mobilité!

 2018 Citroën Bastille Day Rally & RendezVous, Washington Square, NYC

On July 15th the annual Citroën Bastille Day Rally & RendezVous toured the streets of New York, starting at Grant’s Tomb on Riverside Drive and cruising down to the Waverly Place side of Washington Square. Most vehicles were the Deux Chevaux (2CV) model, the beloved “parapluie sur quatre roues” (“umbrella on four wheels”). At the same time these fanciers of French cars were on the road, France was winning the World Cup. Quelle ironie!

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Photos by Mike Licht. Download copies here and here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Uber Makes Traffic Worse

You can call Uber and Lyft from your phone and get a ride. Smooth, right? But with all those rideshare vehicles picking up and dropping off fares, city streets are more congested than ever. Video from Streetfilms.org.

More:

“How to Fix New York City’s ‘Unsustainable’ Traffic Woes,” Laura Bliss, CityLab

Update:

“A new study says services like UberPool are making traffic worse,” Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post

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The Price of Parking

A Hong Kong parking spot measuring 16.4 feet by 8.2 feet sold for US$760,000 on June 4th, according to the South China Morning Post. That’s about US$5,600 per square foot, three times the average price of residential property in Hong Kong. The spot is in a parking bay in the Ultima luxury development (average apartment price: US$12.7 million) where there are only 370 car spaces for 527 units. An Ultima parking space recently rented for US$1,274 per month.

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Self-Driving Car Trap

Autonomous Trap 001, a work-in-progress by James Bridle. h/t:  Jason Kottke

Related:

“Most people expect driverless cars to become common, and they worry about it,” Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post

Update:

“Small stickers on the ground trick Tesla autopilot into steering into opposing traffic lane,” Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

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