And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
I don't know that I'm ok being on the road with a self driving car/truck
I'm skeptical. Seems unlikely that the truck figured out the charging options for several tanks of electrons. The numbers displayed say the human drove one mile. Even if that was all for charging stops, the fact that nothing bad happened isn't proof that it's foolproof. Even though Tesla misleadingly calls it autopilot, my understanding is they still say it's a driving aid and you need a human paying attention. After all, if something goes wrong it isn't Mr. Musk that gets the ticket.
Also not totally buying it. Published ranges are 300-350 (depending on model) but most real world experiences are around 200-250. So figure at least 5-6 stops to recharge, maybe 7-8 unless he was running the battery way down.
We have Waymo self driving cars in San Francisco. There have been some impressive accidents, after which the company sez it's no problemo and the software is being updated.
They got to have some monster sized battery banks in them. High DC voltage too. Its easy math to figure what the range is with a battery drive. Base formula is 748 watts to a horsepower, and I know it works cause I built a gas drive recharging set for my off grid system, used a old aircooled beetlebug engine, running at 800 rpm it produces 16hp, figures out to 11,000 watts continuous. simply break it down to amps, knowing the battery voltage, gets you a ball park number.
I don't believe it. The Tesla Cybertruck has an estimated electric range of 320 to 350 miles, depending on the specific model configuration. You're telling me he never steered the vehicle to a recharging point or braked? Nope.
Why wouldn't the vehicle have a system to charge the batts while driving? Marine smallcraft have that available now. It doesn't require solar panels. I reckon such a system would scale.
FSD = Full Self Driving (Supervised) FSD mode handles acceleration, braking, lane changes. Active supervision by human in the driver seat onboard. I didn't see how much time to complete the trip. I suspect the trip was non-stop without layovers.
The other day this was the topic of a conversation. In the event of an accident, or God forbid, a fatality, who pays? Who goes to prison? How immediate is human override if intervention is required? Is that another step in the command decision tree thereby adding more time to an emergent condition?
The override of FSD is the instant you turn the wheel or hit the brakes. You are responsible for everything. It will stop and attempt to avoid other cars probably as fast or faster than a human. However traveling at 50 plus mph it did not avoid a Canadian goose with a landing pattern at 90 degrees to the road last year resulting in two small dents on the hood.
I just got the annual free month trial of the Full Self Driving software update on my 2023 model Y Performance. It gets better every year. When I first got the car it would drive to the address you put into the navigation system and sit there waiting for you to take over and pull in or park. In 2023 it would not turn into my driveway and it would not back up under any circumstance. It snowed a few days ago and I told it to take me to work and it got there with no problem on the snow covered roads that had been plowed once but were not clear. Then it angle parked on the street in front of the office next to a row of other cars angle parked with no visible lines showing on the road due to the snow. I moved it to a driveway at the end of the property facing in and over the sidewalk. After work I told it to take me home and it backed out into the street safely and took me home. It pulled into my drive and it backed up turning and parked next to another car in the turnaround of my drive. The takeaway is that now it will pull into a driveway and park next to another car and it can back up and it recognizes parking spaces. It has gotten a lot better since June of 2023 when I bought the car. The cost is $99/month if I want to subscribe but I only drive about 1,000 miles a month and It's just not worth 10 cents a mile to have it. My commute to work is 4 minutes so I can do that much driving myself. I would already own a Cybertruck if it came in colors without the stainless steel needing wrapped for 5K.
Remember thinking of all that your elders had seen over the course of their lives? Well, you're seeing new things now.
When the automobile came along, a sizeable number of folks said it won't catch on. Others said the auto will be of limited use. They all were wrong. That's just one example. The advent of the personal computer is another infamous example of naysayers.
How self-driving vehicles catch on is still up in the air. But you can be sure that there are a lot of monied technologists in full support.
A friend of mine has a hybrid that he bragged about being self driving on the highway and it worked until it hit a heavy cross wind and would have put the car in the ditch if he hadn't grabbed the wheel. I've ridden with him but I'd rather not.
I am a retired Electrical Engineer and have worked with computers, chips. and software since the 70s. I would never own an EV or let a car "drive me" as 1) computers always need to be upgraded for SW, 2) for a computer controlled car it has to "be completely open to the total road and environment always" and I with pot holes, fog, bad drivers, I doubt the computer can handle the bad issues, and 3) the computer will want to follow google maps for direction but they ate not always up to date and will lead to bad decisions.
One thing that I noticed about EVs and Hybrids was a friend of mine has a Hybrid and had his battery fail. His car was out for about a month before they got a new battery and could replace it. I also saw a video report on several EVs that had minor car accidents that did damages to their battery and the insurance companies totaled the EV as the battery replacement costs and time to do it were too much.
I'm skeptical. Seems unlikely that the truck figured out the charging options for several tanks of electrons. The numbers displayed say the human drove one mile. Even if that was all for charging stops, the fact that nothing bad happened isn't proof that it's foolproof. Even though Tesla misleadingly calls it autopilot, my understanding is they still say it's a driving aid and you need a human paying attention. After all, if something goes wrong it isn't Mr. Musk that gets the ticket.
ReplyDeleteAlso not totally buying it. Published ranges are 300-350 (depending on model) but most real world experiences are around 200-250. So figure at least 5-6 stops to recharge, maybe 7-8 unless he was running the battery way down.
DeleteWould you rather be on the road where every other auto was a self-driving auto, or that every other driver was a Pajeet or Hatian?
ReplyDeleteHow about the option where we have none of those three on the road.
DeleteYou will be much safer on the road with self-driving cars than those currently behind the wheel.
ReplyDeleteWe have Waymo self driving cars in San Francisco. There have been some impressive accidents, after which the company sez it's no problemo and the software is being updated.
ReplyDeleteBesides not buying this, what happens when the truck wants a divorce and leaves the guy?
ReplyDeleteWith 0 DUIs
DeleteThey got to have some monster sized battery banks in them. High DC voltage too. Its easy math to figure what the range is with a battery drive. Base formula is 748 watts to a horsepower, and I know it works cause I built a gas drive recharging set for my off grid system, used a old aircooled beetlebug engine, running at 800 rpm it produces 16hp, figures out to 11,000 watts continuous. simply break it down to amps, knowing the battery voltage, gets you a ball park number.
ReplyDelete123 kWh capacity and 816 volts is the high voltage battery specs.
DeleteDid any one notice the change of the location? Or does that matter?
ReplyDeleteCybertruckownersclub.com
DeleteDestination was Cape Coral.
One guy said he drove Memphis TN to Phoenix to AK on the Alcan hwy. 88% self driving on that trip.
They're already talking about a cybertruck cannonball.
Retired truck driver here.
ReplyDeleteIt won't become widespread. There are simply too many variables to account for in the programming.
Dedicated routes, perhaps even dedicated lanes, would aid feasibilty. Enroute would be a constant, ports at either end would be the only variables.
DeleteAssuming a required CDL, how does the onboard supervising human log the trip? Are duty times unchanged?
DeleteI don't believe it. The Tesla Cybertruck has an estimated electric range of 320 to 350 miles, depending on the specific model configuration. You're telling me he never steered the vehicle to a recharging point or braked? Nope.
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't the vehicle have a system to charge the batts while driving? Marine smallcraft have that available now. It doesn't require solar panels. I reckon such a system would scale.
DeleteFSD = Full Self Driving (Supervised)
ReplyDeleteFSD mode handles acceleration, braking, lane changes. Active supervision by human in the driver seat onboard.
I didn't see how much time to complete the trip. I suspect the trip was non-stop without layovers.
The other day this was the topic of a conversation. In the event of an accident, or God forbid, a fatality, who pays? Who goes to prison?
How immediate is human override if intervention is required? Is that another step in the command decision tree thereby adding more time to an emergent condition?
... was NOT non-stop ...
DeleteThe override of FSD is the instant you turn the wheel or hit the brakes. You are responsible for everything. It will stop and attempt to avoid other cars probably as fast or faster than a human. However traveling at 50 plus mph it did not avoid a Canadian goose with a landing pattern at 90 degrees to the road last year resulting in two small dents on the hood.
DeleteI just got the annual free month trial of the Full Self Driving software update on my 2023 model Y Performance. It gets better every year. When I first got the car it would drive to the address you put into the navigation system and sit there waiting for you to take over and pull in or park. In 2023 it would not turn into my driveway and it would not back up under any circumstance. It snowed a few days ago and I told it to take me to work and it got there with no problem on the snow covered roads that had been plowed once but were not clear. Then it angle parked on the street in front of the office next to a row of other cars angle parked with no visible lines showing on the road due to the snow. I moved it to a driveway at the end of the property facing in and over the sidewalk. After work I told it to take me home and it backed out into the street safely and took me home. It pulled into my drive and it backed up turning and parked next to another car in the turnaround of my drive. The takeaway is that now it will pull into a driveway and park next to another car and it can back up and it recognizes parking spaces. It has gotten a lot better since June of 2023 when I bought the car. The cost is $99/month if I want to subscribe but I only drive about 1,000 miles a month and It's just not worth 10 cents a mile to have it. My commute to work is 4 minutes so I can do that much driving myself. I would already own a Cybertruck if it came in colors without the stainless steel needing wrapped for 5K.
ReplyDeleteso what city was it, Cape Coral or Canaveral??? Won't have heard anything about this if it had drove into the gulf or atlantic....
ReplyDeleteRemember thinking of all that your elders had seen over the course of their lives?
ReplyDeleteWell, you're seeing new things now.
When the automobile came along, a sizeable number of folks said it won't catch on. Others said the auto will be of limited use. They all were wrong. That's just one example.
The advent of the personal computer is another infamous example of naysayers.
How self-driving vehicles catch on is still up in the air. But you can be sure that there are a lot of monied technologists in full support.
Elon says v14.2.1 allows texting while driving (if traffic allows). I guess that means light traffic/open road.
ReplyDeleteIs Elon's real name Lonnie or something? The e was added like in e-mail, ebike, etc.
ReplyDeleteE-lon
A friend of mine has a hybrid that he bragged about being self driving on the highway and it worked until it hit a heavy cross wind and would have put the car in the ditch if he hadn't grabbed the wheel. I've ridden with him but I'd rather not.
ReplyDeleteThey are really - really stupid.
ReplyDeleteI am a retired Electrical Engineer and have worked with computers, chips. and software since the 70s. I would never own an EV or let a car "drive me" as 1) computers always need to be upgraded for SW, 2) for a computer controlled car it has to "be completely open to the total road and environment always" and I with pot holes, fog, bad drivers, I doubt the computer can handle the bad issues, and 3) the computer will want to follow google maps for direction but they ate not always up to date and will lead to bad decisions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I noticed about EVs and Hybrids was a friend of mine has a Hybrid and had his battery fail. His car was out for about a month before they got a new battery and could replace it. I also saw a video report on several EVs that had minor car accidents that did damages to their battery and the insurance companies totaled the EV as the battery replacement costs and time to do it were too much.
ReplyDelete