Elon Musk: Tesla cars will have “autopilot mode” by summer

Post by mfringel » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:13 PM UTC

stevecalifornia wrote: post #29

acadien wrote: post #17

"self-driving car" and "car capable driving itself on highway under optimal conditions" are 2 totally different things. The real excitement comes when I can tell my car to go pick up the kids from school or drop me off at the airport and then drive itself back home. Anyways this is a great step in the right direction but its not the game changing tech we're all waiting for.

I bought a new car in Sept 2014. It uses radar to do adaptive cruise control all the way down to stop and go. It also uses camera's to sense the lanes and steer to keep lane. Also handles emergency braking and people cutting me off. So basically, I choose the on-ramp and off-ramp and the car does the rest on the highway. I feel like it's the midpoint between a manual car and an autonomous car. After a few months of u…

Post by saiya-jin » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:19 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #184

ForHackernews wrote: post #158

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> of course you may view all of those are insanely expensive Maybe I'm just cheap, but I do think those are all insanely expensive. Even $64k is more than twice the median annual income in the US, and $78-180k will buy you a decent house in most places that aren't SF/LA/DC/NY. I can't imagine ever wanting to spend that much money on a depreciating asset that's only major benefit over a $10k Honda Civic is as a status…

depreciating asset that's only major benefit over a $10k Honda Civic is as a status symbol. Some people think that driving is fun and think of having a car that is fun to drive as a major benefit.

Post by Already__Taken » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:31 PM UTC

declan wrote: post #159

rsync wrote: post #148

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Tesla performance is astounding - better than many cars that are $250k and more. Tesla interior/luxury/comfort is astonishingly low. All mid-ranged luxury cars (A6, 5-Series, E-class, etc.) are much, much nicer cars to drive in, and many of the lower end (3 series, C class) have nicer interiors as well.

On the performance point, you're quite right on 0-60 speeds. Electric motors, all-wheel drive, and smart launch control will give you excellent times. On a track, though, where weight and handling matter so much, I wonder what the performance would be. The Tesla Model S (Performance Model) and the Tesla Roadster have essentially the same lap time around Laguna Seca as a humble VW Golf and Ford Focus -- and all four a…

Post by talmand » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:37 PM UTC

diminoten wrote: post #196

dang wrote: post #178

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It doesn't matter how easily the information is found. By "doxing" I meant posting someone's personal details as a way of attacking them. None of us would want that done to ourselves, and we owe the same consideration to others. Nor is it needed for substantive discussion, which is the purpose of HN threads.

Am I doxxing myself by using my last name as my username, or by putting my real name, current position at my company, and my email address in my profile? The problem with your golden rule there is that you make assumptions about what other people want.

Post by bryanlarsen » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:43 PM UTC

saiya-jin wrote: post #202

bryanlarsen wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Huge number of features = more to go wrong" You do realize that this is a good argument for the Tesla, right? An electric drivetrain is much simpler than a gasoline one, and in a crazy features battle, the S Class trounces a Tesla.

I heard this from Musk before, on first sight it makes sense. BUT - most current failures in cars are not components that are around for 100 years - these are usually fine if regular service is done. What fails miserably in new cars are all kinds of tech gimmicks that improve significantly with every new generation. The only exception might be turbo charged petrol engines, but they are around for a while too.