Autonomous vehicle experts say that Tesla is nowhere near deploying fully self-driving cars without human babysitters along for the ride.
Despite no confirmed crashes to this point, there is a lack of consumer confidence surrounding Tesla's autonomous robotaxi service since its public rollout in Austin, Texas.
What's happening?
As WIRED reported, Tesla's driverless service involves a human safety monitor in the front passenger seat of its robotaxis. This person is there to intervene if the autonomous technology makes an error.
The human component in Tesla robotaxis likely makes the driverless service safer. However, critics argue that Tesla is falling behind competitors like Waymo and Zoox and falling short on its promises to offer a fully self-driving ride service with no human supervisor in the car.
Missy Cummings, a George Mason University autonomous vehicle researcher, said, "If learning to deploy a self-driving car system was grades K through 12, Tesla is in first grade."
"Tesla is splashing around in the kiddie pool, and everyone is asking where it's going to place in the Olympic swim competition," agreed Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who studies self-driving cars.
Why is Tesla's autonomous vehicle progress important?
This assessment of Tesla's autonomous vehicle progress is discouraging for the EV automaker, which is already facing declining sales and lawsuits related to its safety features.
The brand has been notoriously quiet about the technical details of its self-driving car technology and past blunders. Meanwhile, social media posts have shared footage of its robotaxis making unsafe maneuvers, such as crossing the center yellow line and failing to detect a stopped, reversing truck.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed that his robotaxis would be operating unsupervised with no human passenger by now and that Tesla cameras alone can make safe driving decisions. However, research reports still raise questions among auto experts about whether cameras are enough to operate a vehicle truly autonomously.
This doubt may raise questions in people's minds about whether it's safe to hail a ride from a robotaxi. It may also make drivers question whether EVs are safe to drive in general, thereby slowing the widespread adoption of clean energy driving.
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Definitely 👍 What's being done to make self-driving cars safe?
Whether you feel comfortable booking a rideshare in a Tesla robotaxi or not, embracing electric vehicles is still among the healthiest, safest, and most effective ways to save money and curb planet-overheating gases from tailpipe fumes.
While the technical details of fully autonomous vehicles are being worked out, you can still take rideshares in EVs with a human actually driving the car. Collaborative efforts are underway between EV automakers and existing rideshare companies to encourage people to take sustainable forms of transportation, especially for short trips like commutes and running errands.
In addition to low-impact travel options like ridesharing, you can also explore public transportation where you live or try an e-bike.
Even if Tesla's self-driving car promises aren't coming to fruition without concerns and delays, there are also other innovative brands making impressive progress in the industry. The more people and companies working to advance autonomous driving, the closer we become to a driverless reality that is safer than having a real-life human behind the wheel.
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