Cruise-operated autonomous Chevrolet Bolt vehicle got stuck Sunday in an under-construction intersection in San Francisco.
It is not the first time a Cruise robotaxi was spotted stranded in the middle of the road, obstructing traffic. However, the engagement of Tesla CEO Elon Musk is what makes it interesting this time.
The incident is undoubtedly a setback to the company’s operation in the county, which is just beginning to embrace the technology. In late April, EV-a2z reported that Cruise began operating its Robotaxis 24/7 in San Francisco, with public service starting at 10 pm.
Tesla CEO reacts
Tesla Owners Silicon Valley initially posted the footage of the Cruise Robotaxi’s incident in San Francisco, which @stevenmarkryan later shared on Twitter.
“Generalized autonomy (see Tesla) is 100x harder than the brittle “self-driving” tech we see here.”
@stevenmarkryan
For context, LiDAR is one of several sensors that Cruise and most autonomous robotaxis today used to navigate a geofenced region. In contrast, Tesla is creating a driverless system that can operate in any situation and on any route.
The retweeted post gained the Tesla CEO’s attention, replying, “Yeah, extremely brittle to local conditions & doesn’t scale.”
See Also:
- Cruise now operates its Robotaxis 24/7 in San Francisco, public service starts at 10 pm
- Cruise autonomous taxis open daytime ride services in San Francisco
- Tesla CEO expects to achieve “full autonomy” in 2023
- Tesla rolls out FSD Beta in Europe and Australia
- Tesla prioritizes growth over profit in short-term, fell short of market forecasts
Some people may interpret CEO Musk’s remarks as him picking on his autonomous driving tech rival’s mishap. However, it is important to remember that he is speaking from experience.
After all, Tesla has been working on autonomous driving for so long that even ardent Tesla supporters are beginning to doubt his timelines for achieving “full autonomy.”
