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Tesla cars, with the sensor packages they currently have, do not have a path forward to Level 5, despite the marketing claims of Tesla. Claiming that their ca

Tesla cars, with the sensor packages they currently have, do not have a path forward to Level 5, despite the marketing claims of Tesla. Claiming that their cars have all the hardware required for Level 5 is a flagrant lie, which they can get away with for now because they've given themselves plenty of outs to avoid ever having to deliver Level 5 capabilities (when they fail they can blame inadequate software or an unsuitable regulatory environment.) A word on that software: As it currently stands, they are delivering software that enables Level 2 capabilities. This is sometimes called "hands on", as in your hands should remain on the steering wheel and your eyes on the road, ready to take control in an instant. According to Tesla, drivers are to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road; if the driver fails to do so then they are at fault for any accident. However Elon Musk contradicts this company policy and has promoted the system as hands off on national television. Why would he do something so irresponsible? Because misrepresenting the hardware and software capabilities of his cars helps him sell cars. He knows the hype for self driving cars is at a fever pitch, and stretching the truth helps him profit from that hype. https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-breaks-tesla-autopilot-rule-2018-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-breaks-tesla-autop...

ec109685 8y ago
Why can't the hardware deliver Level 5? The one area that he is saying they'll upgrade is their inference engine – is that what you're referring to?
leesec 8y ago
Well no one knows how to get to level 5 since it doesn't exist yet. But there doesn't seem to be any theoretical reason why maps+vision+radar can't scale to level 5.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  Their radar doesn't have the angular resolution to do anything other than adaptive cruise control, and while they boast 360˚ camera coverage, whatever stereoscopic data they are getting from those cameras is evidently insufficient to detect a large firetruck parked in the middle of the street. Now consider MobilEye, a subsidiary of Intel and a major player in the field of camera/radar driver assist technology. Tesla was using MobilEye tech, until MobilEye terminated that relationship because they believed Tesla was being irresponsible with how far they were pushing MobilEye's tech. MobilEye had a financial incentive to see Tesla succeed with a camera/radar only solution, and continues to have a financial incentive to downplay the necessity of LIDAR. But do they? No. Instead you've got MobilEye's CEO Amnon Shashua talking about the virtues of a combined LIDAR/radar and camera/radar solution, while trash talking Elon Musk for being irresponsible. When you consider who is saying what and what their financial incentives are, it becomes clear that Amnon Shashua is an ethical person and Elon is a car salesman who is making technically unfalsifiable claims about the capabilities of the hardware in Tesla cars to profit from automation hype.

ec109685 8y ago

Why can't the hardware deliver Level 5? The one area that he is saying they'll upgrade is their inference engine – is that what you're referring to?

leesec 8y ago

Well no one knows how to get to level 5 since it doesn't exist yet. But there doesn't seem to be any theoretical reason why maps+vision+radar can't scale to level 5.

darkpuma 8y ago
Their radar doesn't have the angular resolution to do anything other than adaptive cruise control, and while they boast 360˚ camera coverage, whatever stereoscopic data they are getting from those cameras is evidently insufficient to detect a large firetruck parked in the middle of the street. Now consider MobilEye, a subsidiary of Intel and a major player in the field of camera/radar driver assist technology. Tesla was using MobilEye tech, until MobilEye terminated that relationship because they believed Tesla was being irresponsible with how far they were pushing MobilEye's tech. MobilEye had a financial incentive to see Tesla succeed with a camera/radar only solution, and continues to have a financial incentive to downplay the necessity of LIDAR. But do they? No. Instead you've got MobilEye's CEO Amnon Shashua talking about the virtues of a combined LIDAR/radar and camera/radar solution, while trash talking Elon Musk for being irresponsible. When you consider who is saying what and what their financial incentives are, it becomes clear that Amnon Shashua is an ethical person and Elon is a car salesman who is making technically unfalsifiable claims about the capabilities of the hardware in Tesla cars to profit from automation hype.