re: Elon Musk:: Tesla cars to be fully autonomous by 2018

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I don't see how a reasonable person could disagree that his vision has worked pretty much perfectly.

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I do, since his company still isn't even close to free cash flow positive.

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I think once it's viable, it will take off like wildfire. Like most technology, it will free us up to be more productive or to be entertained.

I am positive there comes a day soon when car ownership will drop dramatically. Particularly in the more dense urban areas. No need for street parking, or long term parking lots. Just drop off/pick up zones.

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if we can abolish the cab cartel, you could potentially have your car running "uber" service all day while you are working, then be back to pick you up 15 minutes before you get off of work. Need a burger from mcdonalds? order your food, you car picks it up right on time and drives it to you. its going to be amazing not being tied down to driving.

Plus I like to peel out.

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I don't see how a reasonable person could disagree that his vision has worked pretty much perfectly.

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That's ridiculous.

Tesla has carved a small niche out for itself as an electric car company, but it's way early for a reasonable person to say that the company's vision of making electric cars for the masses has worked perfectly.

They have yet to introduce an electric car that is affordable to most Americans, and there's already cars scheduled for release this year with electric ranges at or near 200 miles with a price tag under $40,000. Tesla will be late to the game with their new Model 3, and they'll be facing competition from real car companies (that earn money) with vast dealership networks and very sophisticated supply chains. They are still trying to see positive cash flow, and I think they have a very challenging few years ahead of them to say the least.

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in this 1 in a million scenario, what do you think has a better chance of deciding the best outcome? the soccer mom texting her best friend while driving, the 80 year old that shouldnt be driving anyway, the 16 year old that has been driving for 10 days, or a processor who's sole job is analyzing thousands of datapoints per microsecond to make the best decision?

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Modern airliners that use fly by wire systems have many processors making thousand of decisions per second, the pilot is just telling the plane where it needs to go, the flight computers figure out how to do it all based of programed decision making "laws", the autonomous cars are using very similar technology.

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He proposed a bunch of shite and designed a shitty over priced electric car,

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Their top of the line car got the only perfect rating ever in the 75+ or however many year history of Motor Trend.


Sooooooooo shitty!!!!

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Chevy Bolt is still a concept car without a scheduled release date.

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It's not a concept car. The production version of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV was revealed 4 days ago. Deliveries are starting this year from $37,000 before $7,000 in tax rebates.

LINK

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General Motors GM -1.56% unveiled the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week; Bolt will be center stage at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week; and it’s supposed to go on sale by the end of the year. That’s a remarkably fast turnaround for a car that came out of seemingly nowhere as a concept only a year ago, at the 2015 NAIAS.

So Bolt will be the first all-electric in the United States with paradigm-changing range (around 200 miles) at a mainstream price (about $30,000 after government rebates). Because so far the lack of an acceptable between-charge range has been holding back EVs, and because Bolt will be priced accessibly, here’s betting that Bolt clearly will become a game-changer even if gasoline remains at about $2 a gallon through 2016.

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BMW is also updating their I3 and improving their range and availability, but Bolt right now is poised to be the huge seller in the affordable electric car market.

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This also is the goal of Tesla’s upcoming Model 3, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that the long-awaited, long-promoted Model 3 now won’t be available until “about two years” from now. Given that Tesla is just now getting around to producing its also long-awaited Model X sport-utility vehicle in volume, more than three years after unveiling the concept, it’s a pretty sure bet that Bolt will have this brand new EV segment all to itself for at least a year.

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LINK

May not be a bad thing overall for Tesla in the grand scheme of things. This could mean that by the time the Model 3 is out in a few years, there could be a lot more electric vehicle infrastructure and support systems out there to help buyers adopt these new products.

Additionally, even if other manufacturers start bringing desirable and affordable EVs to the market, then Musk's personal vision for the future of personal transportation will have been achieved.

Maybe Tesla won't turn into one of the world's largest automakers, but I really don't think Musk will have a personal problem with the big boys stepping into and driving the EV market forward.

It's not like he needs the money. I'm sure he will sleep just fine at night knowing that he was a driving force behind getting the major manufacturers to bring EVs to the market. If you asked Elon Musk if he would shut down Tesla in exchange for every major brand offering an affordable, practical, and desirable EV, I think he would take that every day of the week.

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This is a critical market for Tesla, and IMO they've waited too long to get here only to finally reach the market after it's been saturated with established players.

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I agree that being first to market is an advantage. I think you are overstating that the market will be saturated with established players by the time the model 3 gets here.

Say the Model 3 comes in 2017. His competition will be 3 or 4 vehicles (unless something completely out of the blue comes out of one of the other majors).

Bolt and Leaf looks like the only main competition for your daily driver for the majority of the country. The i3 is tiny. Great for a city dweller, but most other will want something bigger and more comfortable. Smart cars aren't beating the civic, focus, cruze, etc...

Nissan needs to get their head out of their arse from an aesthetic stand point as well to compete. The current leaf is ugly as sin, and I think the Bolt/Model 3 would destroy it if price and range aren't heavily in the leaf's favor. The Bolt and (probably) the Model 3 will look like normal cars. The leaf will need a major exterior design makeover if it wants to compete going forward.