Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

JKenH

Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving beta’ released but drivers must pay constant attention to the road

A photograph shared on Twitter by one of the select few trialling Tesla’s FSD technology shows what appears to be a Tesla screen. This warns that although the FSD system “will make lane changes off highway, select forks to follow your navigation route, navigate around other vehicles and objects, and make left and right turns’, drivers “must not become complacent” and should “be prepared to act immediately, especially around blind corners, crossings, intersections, and in narrow driving situations.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has not explained how or why a technology - even one in limited beta-mode release - that requires drivers to pay constant attention to the road is classed as ‘full self-driving’ system, though he promised its roll out would be “extremely slow and cautious, as it should.” He followed that up, however, with news that from Monday 26 November the FSD option would increase in cost by around $2,000 (£1,524).

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/353540/tesla-full-self-driving-beta-released-drivers-must-pay-constant-attention-road

Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) Tweeted: FSD beta program here we go. Hell yeah https://t.co/dNVGlwyYv6 
https://twitter.com/teslaownersSV/status/1319097145358598144?s=20

JKenH

Tesla lifts Supercharging rate in Australia to 52c/kWh

Tesla has surprised – and disappointed – customers in Australia and across the world with a rise in the cost of its Supercharging network. In Australia, that puts the cost of Supercharging – for those who do not have a free pass – now at 52c/kWh, up from 42c/kWh previously.

Inevitable really with a captive market but still cheaper (and faster) than many rapids.

https://thedriven.io/2020/10/22/tesla-lifts-supercharging-rate-in-australia-to-52c-kwh/

Martyn1981

I was just pottering away reading this perfectly pleasant article, when it struck me - the US is a bit slow when it comes to BEV adoption, but not awful, however even at this stage, in 2020, we are getting more and more States, studies etc etc explaining how they will need to switch to BEV's and ban ICEV's in the next decade or two. That means that the BEV industry is going to pop very soon in the US as the direction is set, only the rate of travel is uncertain, but accelerating.
On threads and boards like this it's easy to miss just how big these 'little' news items are. I often forget that to the vast majority of people BEV's are just something they hear about on the news ....... but not for much longer, once you pop, you just can't stop!

New Jersey: Need 100% Electric Car Sales By 2035

California recently announced a plan to start banning sales of gas cars in 2035, an increase in the timeline from an earlier plan to do so by 2040. The 11th most populated state in the country, New Jersey, isn’t quite ready to announce a plan to ban sales, but it also says that 100% of the state’s new car sales need to be electric by 2035.

Martyn1981

More news on Tesla's small rollout of the FSD Beta. Am I the only one that finds this terrifying in a good/bad way as the rate of change is simply too hard to comprehend. So exciting, but also makes me feel old ........ I remember when it was all trees around here, and we had to actually steer AND change gears!

A Look At Tesla’s FSD Beta

Some of those videos were provided by John from Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley. Since the publication of that article, John has shared more videos and also told me more in a Twitter DM about the experience. He noted that Tesla gave him express permission to share his experience.

“Truly an amazing step forward in FSD space, this is a mic drop from Elon/Tesla that FSD is here. I was able to drive from my house to Target and from one supercharger to the next from city streets to highways. It is mind-blowing and it all came from OTA,” he told me in a direct message on Twitter.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

More news on Tesla's small rollout of the FSD Beta. Am I the only one that finds this terrifying in a good/bad way as the rate of change is simply too hard to comprehend. So exciting, but also makes me feel old ........ I remember when it was all trees around here, and we had to actually steer AND change gears!

A Look At Tesla’s FSD Beta

Some of those videos were provided by John from Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley. Since the publication of that article, John has shared more videos and also told me more in a Twitter DM about the experience. He noted that Tesla gave him express permission to share his experience.

“Truly an amazing step forward in FSD space, this is a mic drop from Elon/Tesla that FSD is here. I was able to drive from my house to Target and from one supercharger to the next from city streets to highways. It is mind-blowing and it all came from OTA,” he told me in a direct message on Twitter.

It’s a huge technical achievement. Well done Tesla. The next big step is getting it past the regulators. Waymo have made some progress in that direction, albeit in a limited area. I am not sure we will see robo taxis just yet?

I am sure my wife will love it and I probably will when it does eventually arrive as I will be too old to drive myself by then.

shinytop

I had to google FSD.  My question is, why?  It's very clever but what problem is it solving?  Is it going to save money, lives, time or what?  Is it just a stepping stone to fully autonomous?  Automatic gearboxes and cruise control/lane assist make driving a bit more convenient but they are not game changers.  Why will FSD be different?  And I'm asking because I'd really like to know, not because I've decided I'm against it.    

Martyn1981

shinytop said:

I had to google FSD.  My question is, why?  It's very clever but what problem is it solving?  Is it going to save money, lives, time or what?  Is it just a stepping stone to fully autonomous?  Automatic gearboxes and cruise control/lane assist make driving a bit more convenient but they are not game changers.  Why will FSD be different?  And I'm asking because I'd really like to know, not because I've decided I'm against it.    

Hi. The aim of Tesla FSD (full self driving) is fully autonomous. The cars come with the kit on board, cameras, radar, computer processing etc, it's 'just' the software you have to pay for, currently £6,800 if bought at the same time as the car, but autopilot comes 'free'.

So it's not really a stepping stone to fully autonomous, FSD is fully autonomous, it's just that it's being rolled out to cars now as it's being developed. For instance a recent update was stopping at red lights and stop signs. The big news recently is that a Beta test of a more complete package is on partial release just for testing.

Also important is the different approach that Tesla is taking. Rather than using LIDAR and pre-mapping the routes, Tesla's are using machine learning to cope with / learn to drive. So for instance, when folk using FSD override the car when it goes to stop (wrongly), or doesn't stop when it should, that info goes back and the program learns. This means that instead of several hundred test cars and drivers costing a company money, Tesla instead has 100's of thousands of unpaid workers helping them, and paying £000's for the cars to do so ........ hmmmmm!!!

Regarding safety, off the top of my head, in the US Tesla's with autopilot engaged do about 9x as many highway miles per serious accident as the national average, and those with it not engaged do about 4x as many miles as it still keeps an eye on things and will act in a serious situation if needed. In the UK there was a very strange story a year or so back where a tree fell in a storm and the model X broke before the driver could, and the trunk landed on the car bonnet. Weirdly, the tree also hit the nose of a TMX coming the other way too, which also broke before the driver could.

JKenH

shinytop said:

I had to google FSD.  My question is, why?  It's very clever but what problem is it solving?  Is it going to save money, lives, time or what?  Is it just a stepping stone to fully autonomous?  Automatic gearboxes and cruise control/lane assist make driving a bit more convenient but they are not game changers.  Why will FSD be different?  And I'm asking because I'd really like to know, not because I've decided I'm against it.    

I believe the significance of FSD is that it will allow driverless cars which is expected to open up a new transport sector - robo taxis. It may have some safety benefits as it will be 100% focussed on driving and not subject to the distractions of mobile phones, nagging spouses and sexy women on the sidewalk etc. 

 It will also have shortcomings. I doubt that  it will ever be as good as a focussed experienced driver - perhaps it will perform as well as a newly qualified driver, sticking religiously to the rules but lacking judgement. 

It will certainly be interesting to watch an FSD car getting out of a busy city junction - I doubt it will recognise a nod of the head or a flash of the lights. Will an FSD let you out of a junction Or can you just force your way out knowing the FSD car won’t deliberately drive into you? As for narrow country lanes where both cars approach each other head on  at normal speeds - will the FSD car make a judgement that it is safe to take to the grass at the last minute or carry on regardless? What happens when two FSD cars meet on a narrow Cornish lane. Which will remember there was a gateway 50 yards back and reverse up? 

Maybe we will be able to select different self driving profiles (e.g. white van man or old man with a hat) to suit our own preferences. 

I hope that Tesla Insurance is well funded - the lawyers are going to have a field day.

tedlewis355

I keep hearing about closed cell batteries being amazing 

does anybody know how long before they are released 

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

shinytop said:

I had to google FSD.  My question is, why?  It's very clever but what problem is it solving?  Is it going to save money, lives, time or what?  Is it just a stepping stone to fully autonomous?  Automatic gearboxes and cruise control/lane assist make driving a bit more convenient but they are not game changers.  Why will FSD be different?  And I'm asking because I'd really like to know, not because I've decided I'm against it.    

Regarding safety, off the top of my head, in the US Tesla's with autopilot engaged do about 9x as many highway miles per serious accident as the national average, and those with it not engaged do about 4x as many miles as it still keeps an eye on things and will act in a serious situation if needed. In the UK there was a very strange story a year or so back where a tree fell in a storm and the model X broke before the driver could, and the trunk landed on the car bonnet. Weirdly, the tree also hit the nose of a TMX coming the other way too, which also broke before the driver could.

There have also been fatalities in two separate accidents where Tesla Autopilot mistook an articulated lorry for a bridge and tried to drive under it.