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Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

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Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#81

Post by bryanlarsen »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #79
wimagguc wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That mask started to grow on me: it makes the car look like a spaceship, and even more importantly, it sets it apart from all other cars out there. It's like the hatchback-shape of the Prius. I don't think anyone does actually find that attractive, but it's a great design to tell everyone from a distance that you're a better person than them.

Except a hatchback actually has a functional purpose, the Model 3's grill-less grill not so much.

Note that the model 3 isn't a hatchback. Due to the 'entire roof is glass' design, the hinge can't be at the top of the car like it is in a hatchback. On the model 3, the trunk hinges at end of the glass.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#82

Post by kaybe »

Mvandenbergh wrote: post #33
yoodenvranx wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At this point, can it be anything other than full autonomous? There is no way that autonomous driving is going to work in most small European town and villages. There are so many downtowns which were never meant to be used by car and it is already difficult to navigate those places as a human. I just don't see how this should work over here in Europe. Selfdriving on the highway or in a typical suburban sprawl in th…

I actually think that low speed driving and parking in very narrow streets is much easier for an autonomous system than for a person. All those obstacles are made of stone so nice juicy returns for the sensor systems. Carrying out a turn with a centimetre of clearance from a hard surface is much easier for a computer than maintaining lane discipline on a road with faded markings at high speed.

A lot of impact avoidance with other vehicles and pedestrians is done by communicating with looking at each other though. The easiest solution, car always yields, would just mean it will take forever to move because people will lose all respect and just treat it like a solid obstacle. Also, sometimes cars can and do pass within a few cms to humans (ok if everyone is aware of the maneuver and it's slow), would an automated system do that?

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#83

Post by zwily »

diamondtrim wrote: post #75
philfrasty wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One scenario that I keep thinking about all the time: traffic in most south-east asian countries like Vietnam (Hanoi for example). The streets are occupied by a mix of cars, pedestrians (+ animals) and motorcycles. Everything moves ultra close. Must be a nightmare for every car proximity-sensor.

Lol, yeah. Asking for a self driving car programmed to follow traffic laws that can handle Saigon or Bangkok is like asking for a smart drone that can fly safely thru a tornado.

Is it? Can an experienced airplane pilot even fly safely through a tornado?

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#84

Post by jusben1369 »

One of the things I find fascinating, and that Tesla has to grapple with at some point with real ramifications, is: are they a self driving car company that just happens to be an electric car company? Or the other way around?

I would argue that electric car companies are appealing to a much smaller subset of potential customers than are self driving cars. But the mission behind each is very different and that flows into all the key design and marketing decisions you have to make.

Tesla can easily pivot from one to the other. But Musk is so passionate about the first, and therefore so are so many of their key people, that you wonder what happens if they pivot to being first to market with the best self driving cars that just happen to be electric.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#85

Post by Retric »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #67
Mvandenbergh wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think that low speed driving and parking in very narrow streets is much easier for an autonomous system than for a person. All those obstacles are made of stone so nice juicy returns for the sensor systems. Carrying out a turn with a centimetre of clearance from a hard surface is much easier for a computer than maintaining lane discipline on a road with faded markings at high speed.

There is a 500 m long street in front of my house where it is customary that people cross it everywhere and cars are just expected to stop for the people. There are no traffic lights or pedestrian crossing or any special rules, its just that people started doing this decades ago and now it is just tradition to do this. So now you have a long street where tons of people are crossing every 10 meters during the day beca…

Don't forget computers have vastly faster response times than people. A car going 5mph with 10ms reaction times can stop in ~1 foot. http://www.random-science-tools.com/physics/stopping-distanc...

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#86

Post by mantas »

Laaw wrote: post #19
yoodenvranx wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At this point, can it be anything other than full autonomous? There is no way that autonomous driving is going to work in most small European town and villages. There are so many downtowns which were never meant to be used by car and it is already difficult to navigate those places as a human. I just don't see how this should work over here in Europe. Selfdriving on the highway or in a typical suburban sprawl in th…

Why? What specifically is hard about narrow streets? That actually sounds like the kind of thing a self driving car could excel at. The bigger problem, is imagine, would be weather. I dunno how completely they've solved that problem yet.

I recently drove in freezing storm. Whole frontend was covered in icy-slushy mixture. Parking sensors were freaking out and working totally randomly in such conditions.

If I ever get an autonomous car, manual driving is a must-have feature :|

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#87

Post by mdorazio »

vrfcodf wrote: post #38
dorianm wrote: post #23

I couldn't believe it was gonna be a fully autonomous car long-term until I saw the empty dashboard in the video: http://i.imgur.com/XcUjuDv.jpg

How could it be? The regulations don't allow it. I don't see it happening sooner than 10 years. If so, what is their plan?

There are already draft regulations in California [1] for exactly this. I expect that at least some states will have cleared the way by 2018, though obviously not all. Autonomous driving will likely be location-restricted to start with as a result. Remember, there is a lot of pressure on politicians from many companies and people to get autonomous vehicles on the road as soon as possible.

[1] https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/autonomous/auto

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#88

Post by JoeAltmaier »

rewqfdsa wrote: post #80
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming its 'his' to begin with. Not hers already?

I'm quite sure that Musk is the one responsible for the increase in value of his companies, not someone who's been uninvolved in running them.

...said somebody totally unacquainted with marriage.

Re: Tesla Intrigue Deepens with Musk's Twitter Barrage

#90

Post by thrownaway2424 »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #58
rewqfdsa wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's going through a massive divorce that could cost him billions.

Assuming its 'his' to begin with. Not hers already?

Exactly. It's the marriage that costs you half your assets, not the divorce.
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