6 ms·

Mercedes-Benz is first to get approval for Level 3 autonomous driving in US

81 points by malshe 4y ago

treis 4y ago
First car manufacturer. Waymo, Cruise, and probably others have had this for years.
- cogman10 4y ago
  And what they are approved for is, frankly, pretty lame. It's lane keeping in stop and go traffic (under 40mph). Essentially, Tesla's EAP. Waymo is WAY beyond this, as is cruise.
  - gerad 4y ago
    Honestly, I think this is pretty amazing. Stop and go traffic is the most annoying part of driving to me. Level 2 isn’t helpful as you need to pay constant attention with your foot over the brake in case the autopilot does something stupid. I don’t know why more manufacturers don’t focus on this.
    - cogman10 4y ago
      I have a Tesla with FSD from 2018 and it is indeed really nice in stop and go traffic. There are definitely situations where I don't trust the car, but keeping a lane on the interstate and creeping forward it does really well. It seems like something that other manufactures could also easily obtain with fairly little innovation.
      - MBCook 4y ago
        Lots of cars can do that, but the driver is still in charge. This system doesn’t require that, the driver can pay attention to other things.
      - newaccount74 4y ago
        Tesla and Mercedes are playing a totally different game. The Mercedes system only operates in narrow conditions, but you can watch Youtube videos while the car is driving. The Tesla system operates in almost any conditions, but you have to watch it like a hawk, and when FSD crashes the car Tesla will claim it was an operator error.
        gambiting 4y ago
        Also just to be clear - Mercedes also has a system that operates in almost any conditions and up to 120mph, the system in question here that got certified as Level 3 is specifically up to 40mph where Mercedes accepts legal liability. You can still use their advanced cruise control systems above that but Mercedes won't accept legal responsibility and you have to pay full attention(same as in a Tesla).
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    Just posted and already people who don't really understand AVs are comparing Apples to Oranges (this to Waymo/Cruise) and Oranges to plastic Oranges meant for a doll house (Tesla) Waymo, Cruise and co are working with sensor stacks worth more than these vehicles with the idea that their vehicles will first be used for ridesharing. That already precludes most comparisons: it's a completely different model with completely different challenges. Meanwhile Tesla does not have a single product that allows you to do other things without liability. Their product is downright primitive compared to what Mercedes is shipping with this. When a Tesla murdered a man by slamming him into a highway barrier, the fact his phone had run Candy Crush at some point during the drive was dragged out against him. - Maybe people are misunderstanding because Mercedes says you need to be awake and able to take over? They don't mean Tesla's joke steering jiggle to indicate you're watching the road: they literally mean you only need to be awake and able to take over in 10 seconds. Other than that you can be checking your email, playing Candy Crush, even whip out your laptop and code. This is the first time you can legally use your time in traffic for something other than driving. If 30 minutes of your 60 minute commute are in rush hour traffic, you can now spend 30 minutes doing something else. (Also for those who won't read the article, Mercedes has a separate lane keeping product that activates above 40 mph, the distinction is that below 40 mph, Mercedes is taking full responsibility of the vehicle's actions and letting you take your eyes off the road)
    - cogman10 4y ago
      > When a Tesla murdered a man by slamming him into a highway barrier, the fact his phone had run Candy Crush at some point during the drive was dragged out against him. Look, I know this is a trope that people like to bring up a lot when hating on tesla. However, you have to consider a two points. * This happened in 2019, 4 years ago. Quiet a bit of development has gone into telsa's autopilot stack since then. * The car was going 70MPH. Mercedes's system only works up to 40MPH. For good reason. A telsa keeping the lane at 40MPH is fairly safe. These are not "miles ahead" systems, they are comparable. Now, what I'm not saying is whether one system is better/safer than the other. IDK because mercedes hasn't released their yet (I suspect you don't either). Mercedes being the "first" to apply for this in NV doesn't really mean a whole lot to me. The fact that they are limiting it to low speeds (40MPH) where a wreck will pretty much just be a fender bender should also tell you something about how confident they are in the system. Tesla has been reckless with the way they've managed their autopilot program. No doubt about that. They've also lied about being able to turn their cars into robotaxis (not a chance of that happening). However, their system is fairly comparable to what Mercedes is doing. Looking at the hardware Mercades is putting in the cars, the main difference is the forward facing LIDAR. That gives Merc an edge that telsa doesn't have, they can pretty confidently handle things like underpasses (where telsa STILL struggles and is a major issue with their hardware stack). My main critique of tesla is their hardware stack and dogged approach here to keeping it cheap (not enough redundancy, poor cameras). But that doesn't mean it's not still in a pretty similar league compared to merc.
  - snotrockets 4y ago
    Tesla requires the driver’s full attention. Mercedes do not.
  - timeon 4y ago
    > Essentially, Tesla's EAP Tesla has no Level 3.
- vsskanth 4y ago
  Full autonomy is different from level 3. Also it's important to note that they assume liability when L3 is in use. https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-news/mercedes-benz-takes-legal-responsibility-its-level-3-technology#:~:text=In%20March%202022%2C%20Mercedes%2DBenz,malfunctions%20in%20the%20manufacturer's%20vehicles https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-news/mercedes-benz-takes-....
- amacneil 4y ago
  Waymo and Cruise have level 4, but in tightly geofenced areas. Tesla have no geofence, but only level 2 (requires constant supervision). Which makes this is an impressive achievement! I believe it's the first level 3 system that you can purchase outright and not limited to specific cities. https://www.sae.org/blog/sae-j3016-update https://www.sae.org/blog/sae-j3016-update
  - tpmx 4y ago
    Yeah, I thought people here would celebrate something actually shipping, but instead there's so much moaning about this and that. Nationalism at its worst, IMHO.
  - numpad0 4y ago
    > level 4, but in tightly geofenced areas. Tesla have no geofence Can we get past this? Practically none of SDCs rely on geofence, not like precomputed routes and paths are necessary. Those are just for safety and for managing complexity for experiments. It’s like trying to ridicule someone in a yellow vest for having to mind safety. Just pathetic.
- akmarinov 4y ago
  Great, where can I buy a Waymo car?
sabertoothed 4y ago
These levels mostly refer to liability, not to capability. EDIT: What I meant is that it is not a reliable indicator for identifying technology leaders.
- btbuilder 4y ago
  Putting money where their mouths are.
- wefarrell 4y ago
  They refer to capability in the legal sense and frankly that's all that matters.
dhaavi 4y ago
This is about (re)liability, rather than features. Meaning, this is the first stock car you can actually buy where you do not need to hold the wheel anymore when it is self-driving.
- MBCook 4y ago
  Ford’s BlueCruise and Cadillac’s SuperCruise don’t require hands on the wheel. The difference, as I understood it, was in this system the driver’s full attention isn’t needed, unlike the systems above.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    This is the best explanation: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/sae-j3016-visual-chart-5-3-21-1620398914.jpg https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...
  - gambiting 4y ago
    Mercedes explicitly accepts liability while their system is in control, while Ford and Cadillac don't. They say you don't have to hold the wheel, but you are still liable for anything that happens.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - MBCook 4y ago
      Right. They’re driver assist systems, not self-driving systems. So the person in the drivers seat is fully in charge of/responsible for everything. Unlike Mercedes.
- affgrff2 4y ago
  This. It is about the driver actually not being responsible for the system behavior when the car is driving itself. That means Mercedes-Benz bit of the long tails.
- 4y ago
judge2020 4y ago
As stated in the article, this is only up to 40 MPH, however know that "level 3" doesn't always mean 40mph. Per SAE, the ODD (operational design domain) is entirely defined by the manufacturer of the car/autonomy system in use, so the next manufacturer might be able to introduce Level 3 up to 45mph or 55mph. The document[0] includes low speed traffic as an example of level 3 operation: > A Level 3 traffic jam feature performs the complete DDT on a fully access-controlled freeway in dense traffic, but requires a human driver to operate the vehicle upon ODD exit (e.g., when traffic clears, as well as before entering the congested freeway, and again upon exiting it). 0: https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/ https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/
- readthenotes1 4y ago
  brilliant choice. many people would pay a lot to get back the 2 or 3 hours stuck in rush hour.
TechnicolorByte 4y ago
Is this using Nvidia’s tech or MB’s own HW/SW?
charcircuit 4y ago
>However, it's worth noting that the Mercedes Drive Pilot technology is only functional at speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h) This seams backwards. In my experience the faster you are able to drive the easier it is to drive. Places with a small speed limit in the middle of town are much more complex to drive through compared to country roads where you just go straight.
- netrus 4y ago
  That is true, but accidents at higher speed are more destructive/expensive. Mercedes can afford to pay for many dented cars, but at higher speeds (more) people die.
  - akmarinov 4y ago
    Mercedes already does 130 km/h in Europe, it'll come to US at some point as well
- newaccount74 4y ago
  Drive Pilot is limited to divided highways. It's designed for rush hour traffic.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
baby 4y ago
There is nothing impressive about that guys. Traditional manufacturers are really lagging behind.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- voz_ 4y ago
  Don't shit on the accomplishments of others. What do you possibly know about self driving?
- timeon 4y ago
  Who is lagging here is Tesla.
- gambiting 4y ago
  Mercedes is the first company with enough confidence in their system that they accept legal liability while their system is in operation - that's not impressive???? Literally no one else is doing this.
petilon 4y ago
It should be noted that Mercedes accepts liability for accidents involving their self-driving cars [1]. This is a very different approach from Tesla [2]. Tesla's irresponsible approach is impacting other more responsible companies because it is lowering consumer confidence in self-driving cars. [1] https://www.kbb.com/car-news/mercedes-well-be-liable-for-self-driving-cars/ https://www.kbb.com/car-news/mercedes-well-be-liable-for-sel... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/magazine/tesla-autopilot-self-driving-elon-musk.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/magazine/tesla-autopilot-... Excerpt from [2]: "The Autopilot kept Riad’s Tesla at a steady speed as it approached the stoplight that marked the end of the freeway and the beginning of Artesia Boulevard. According to a witness, the light was red, but the car drove straight through the intersection, striking a Honda Civic. Riad had only minor injuries, but the two people in the Civic, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves, died at the scene. Their families said that they were on a first date."
- judge2020 4y ago
  Excerpt from [1]: > There are few federal laws addressing automated driving. So, Mercedes Vice President of Automated Driving George Massing tells R&T, “we will probably have to deal with each individual state.” But the company plans to accept legal liability for what the car does while Drive Pilot is engaged. Uh.. is there any actual documentation about them taking liability? Some headlines are fine but not a webpage for submitting a claim or a legal document you can show to a court for why you'd like to introduce Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC as a party to a liability case.
spoils19 4y ago
Does anyone else feel like Tesla could have had it first, but Mercedes-Benz decided to pay off the US instead as it's now popular to hate Elon?
- kube-system 4y ago
  Tesla would have to remove features to meet the reliability bar for level 3. And they won’t ever do that, because their marketing angle is entirely reliant on equating “features” with “capability”. The fact of the matter is that the gee-whiz factor of seeing their cars navigate intersections is greater than the gee-whiz factor of lacking a notification that you must monitor the cars actions.
  - charcircuit 4y ago
    You can keep the features and just gracefully downgrade to level 2 when necessary.
- timeon 4y ago
  Tesla is not reliable.
- gambiting 4y ago
  >> decided to pay off the US What does that even mean? How do you "pay off the US"? The congress? The President? The regulatory agencies? Also, isn't Elon the wealthiest man on the planet? If the issue was simply about "paying off" someone, surely Elon could have already done it ages ago? Or maybe Deimler is a serious corporation that actually knows what they are doing, and through rigorous engineering they know they can accept legal liability for their system, where other companies will not.
voz_ 4y ago
Very cool. This is the kind of progress I would expect here. Big players like Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, are going to take longer to get going, but when they do, they will have the execution and scale to do it far better than most tech companies. The initial tech hurdle is massive, but the space is won on logistics and consistency once the tech is solved.
merricksb 4y ago
Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34334925 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34334925
- judge2020 4y ago
  Not sure why this is a dupe, though. That submission is 10 days old and doesn't seem to have been given a second chance on the front page. @dang
  - dang 4y ago
    That post spent 7 hours on the front page so this is definitely a dupe.
mensetmanusman 4y ago
“ As some of you may have heard, Mercedes-Benz has been granted regulatory approval to begin testing its Level 3 autonomous driving technology on Nevada roads.” The first sentence seems to contradict the headline. Approval to begin testing is not approval across the board.

81 points by malshe 4y ago

treis 4y ago

First car manufacturer. Waymo, Cruise, and probably others have had this for years.

cogman10 4y ago
And what they are approved for is, frankly, pretty lame. It's lane keeping in stop and go traffic (under 40mph). Essentially, Tesla's EAP. Waymo is WAY beyond this, as is cruise.
- gerad 4y ago
  Honestly, I think this is pretty amazing. Stop and go traffic is the most annoying part of driving to me. Level 2 isn’t helpful as you need to pay constant attention with your foot over the brake in case the autopilot does something stupid. I don’t know why more manufacturers don’t focus on this.
  - cogman10 4y ago
    I have a Tesla with FSD from 2018 and it is indeed really nice in stop and go traffic. There are definitely situations where I don't trust the car, but keeping a lane on the interstate and creeping forward it does really well. It seems like something that other manufactures could also easily obtain with fairly little innovation.
    - MBCook 4y ago
      Lots of cars can do that, but the driver is still in charge. This system doesn’t require that, the driver can pay attention to other things.
    - newaccount74 4y ago
      Tesla and Mercedes are playing a totally different game. The Mercedes system only operates in narrow conditions, but you can watch Youtube videos while the car is driving. The Tesla system operates in almost any conditions, but you have to watch it like a hawk, and when FSD crashes the car Tesla will claim it was an operator error.
      - gambiting 4y ago
        Also just to be clear - Mercedes also has a system that operates in almost any conditions and up to 120mph, the system in question here that got certified as Level 3 is specifically up to 40mph where Mercedes accepts legal liability. You can still use their advanced cruise control systems above that but Mercedes won't accept legal responsibility and you have to pay full attention(same as in a Tesla).
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  Just posted and already people who don't really understand AVs are comparing Apples to Oranges (this to Waymo/Cruise) and Oranges to plastic Oranges meant for a doll house (Tesla) Waymo, Cruise and co are working with sensor stacks worth more than these vehicles with the idea that their vehicles will first be used for ridesharing. That already precludes most comparisons: it's a completely different model with completely different challenges. Meanwhile Tesla does not have a single product that allows you to do other things without liability. Their product is downright primitive compared to what Mercedes is shipping with this. When a Tesla murdered a man by slamming him into a highway barrier, the fact his phone had run Candy Crush at some point during the drive was dragged out against him. - Maybe people are misunderstanding because Mercedes says you need to be awake and able to take over? They don't mean Tesla's joke steering jiggle to indicate you're watching the road: they literally mean you only need to be awake and able to take over in 10 seconds. Other than that you can be checking your email, playing Candy Crush, even whip out your laptop and code. This is the first time you can legally use your time in traffic for something other than driving. If 30 minutes of your 60 minute commute are in rush hour traffic, you can now spend 30 minutes doing something else. (Also for those who won't read the article, Mercedes has a separate lane keeping product that activates above 40 mph, the distinction is that below 40 mph, Mercedes is taking full responsibility of the vehicle's actions and letting you take your eyes off the road)
  - cogman10 4y ago
    > When a Tesla murdered a man by slamming him into a highway barrier, the fact his phone had run Candy Crush at some point during the drive was dragged out against him. Look, I know this is a trope that people like to bring up a lot when hating on tesla. However, you have to consider a two points. * This happened in 2019, 4 years ago. Quiet a bit of development has gone into telsa's autopilot stack since then. * The car was going 70MPH. Mercedes's system only works up to 40MPH. For good reason. A telsa keeping the lane at 40MPH is fairly safe. These are not "miles ahead" systems, they are comparable. Now, what I'm not saying is whether one system is better/safer than the other. IDK because mercedes hasn't released their yet (I suspect you don't either). Mercedes being the "first" to apply for this in NV doesn't really mean a whole lot to me. The fact that they are limiting it to low speeds (40MPH) where a wreck will pretty much just be a fender bender should also tell you something about how confident they are in the system. Tesla has been reckless with the way they've managed their autopilot program. No doubt about that. They've also lied about being able to turn their cars into robotaxis (not a chance of that happening). However, their system is fairly comparable to what Mercedes is doing. Looking at the hardware Mercades is putting in the cars, the main difference is the forward facing LIDAR. That gives Merc an edge that telsa doesn't have, they can pretty confidently handle things like underpasses (where telsa STILL struggles and is a major issue with their hardware stack). My main critique of tesla is their hardware stack and dogged approach here to keeping it cheap (not enough redundancy, poor cameras). But that doesn't mean it's not still in a pretty similar league compared to merc.
- snotrockets 4y ago
  Tesla requires the driver’s full attention. Mercedes do not.
- timeon 4y ago
  > Essentially, Tesla's EAP Tesla has no Level 3.
vsskanth 4y ago
Full autonomy is different from level 3. Also it's important to note that they assume liability when L3 is in use. https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-news/mercedes-benz-takes-legal-responsibility-its-level-3-technology#:~:text=In%20March%202022%2C%20Mercedes%2DBenz,malfunctions%20in%20the%20manufacturer's%20vehicles https://www.wardsauto.com/industry-news/mercedes-benz-takes-....
amacneil 4y ago
Waymo and Cruise have level 4, but in tightly geofenced areas. Tesla have no geofence, but only level 2 (requires constant supervision). Which makes this is an impressive achievement! I believe it's the first level 3 system that you can purchase outright and not limited to specific cities. https://www.sae.org/blog/sae-j3016-update https://www.sae.org/blog/sae-j3016-update
- tpmx 4y ago
  Yeah, I thought people here would celebrate something actually shipping, but instead there's so much moaning about this and that. Nationalism at its worst, IMHO.
- numpad0 4y ago
  > level 4, but in tightly geofenced areas. Tesla have no geofence Can we get past this? Practically none of SDCs rely on geofence, not like precomputed routes and paths are necessary. Those are just for safety and for managing complexity for experiments. It’s like trying to ridicule someone in a yellow vest for having to mind safety. Just pathetic.
akmarinov 4y ago
Great, where can I buy a Waymo car?

sabertoothed 4y ago

These levels mostly refer to liability, not to capability. EDIT: What I meant is that it is not a reliable indicator for identifying technology leaders.

btbuilder 4y ago
Putting money where their mouths are.
wefarrell 4y ago
They refer to capability in the legal sense and frankly that's all that matters.

dhaavi 4y ago

This is about (re)liability, rather than features. Meaning, this is the first stock car you can actually buy where you do not need to hold the wheel anymore when it is self-driving.

MBCook 4y ago
Ford’s BlueCruise and Cadillac’s SuperCruise don’t require hands on the wheel. The difference, as I understood it, was in this system the driver’s full attention isn’t needed, unlike the systems above.
- kube-system 4y ago
  This is the best explanation: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/sae-j3016-visual-chart-5-3-21-1620398914.jpg https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...
- gambiting 4y ago
  Mercedes explicitly accepts liability while their system is in control, while Ford and Cadillac don't. They say you don't have to hold the wheel, but you are still liable for anything that happens.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - MBCook 4y ago
    Right. They’re driver assist systems, not self-driving systems. So the person in the drivers seat is fully in charge of/responsible for everything. Unlike Mercedes.
affgrff2 4y ago
This. It is about the driver actually not being responsible for the system behavior when the car is driving itself. That means Mercedes-Benz bit of the long tails.
4y ago

judge2020 4y ago

As stated in the article, this is only up to 40 MPH, however know that "level 3" doesn't always mean 40mph. Per SAE, the ODD (operational design domain) is entirely defined by the manufacturer of the car/autonomy system in use, so the next manufacturer might be able to introduce Level 3 up to 45mph or 55mph. The document[0] includes low speed traffic as an example of level 3 operation: > A Level 3 traffic jam feature performs the complete DDT on a fully access-controlled freeway in dense traffic, but requires a human driver to operate the vehicle upon ODD exit (e.g., when traffic clears, as well as before entering the congested freeway, and again upon exiting it). 0: https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/ https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/

readthenotes1 4y ago
brilliant choice. many people would pay a lot to get back the 2 or 3 hours stuck in rush hour.

TechnicolorByte 4y ago

Is this using Nvidia’s tech or MB’s own HW/SW?

charcircuit 4y ago

>However, it's worth noting that the Mercedes Drive Pilot technology is only functional at speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h) This seams backwards. In my experience the faster you are able to drive the easier it is to drive. Places with a small speed limit in the middle of town are much more complex to drive through compared to country roads where you just go straight.

netrus 4y ago
That is true, but accidents at higher speed are more destructive/expensive. Mercedes can afford to pay for many dented cars, but at higher speeds (more) people die.
- akmarinov 4y ago
  Mercedes already does 130 km/h in Europe, it'll come to US at some point as well
newaccount74 4y ago
Drive Pilot is limited to divided highways. It's designed for rush hour traffic.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

baby 4y ago

There is nothing impressive about that guys. Traditional manufacturers are really lagging behind.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
voz_ 4y ago
Don't shit on the accomplishments of others. What do you possibly know about self driving?
timeon 4y ago
Who is lagging here is Tesla.
gambiting 4y ago
Mercedes is the first company with enough confidence in their system that they accept legal liability while their system is in operation - that's not impressive???? Literally no one else is doing this.

petilon 4y ago

It should be noted that Mercedes accepts liability for accidents involving their self-driving cars [1]. This is a very different approach from Tesla [2]. Tesla's irresponsible approach is impacting other more responsible companies because it is lowering consumer confidence in self-driving cars. [1] https://www.kbb.com/car-news/mercedes-well-be-liable-for-self-driving-cars/ https://www.kbb.com/car-news/mercedes-well-be-liable-for-sel... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/magazine/tesla-autopilot-self-driving-elon-musk.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/magazine/tesla-autopilot-... Excerpt from [2]: "The Autopilot kept Riad’s Tesla at a steady speed as it approached the stoplight that marked the end of the freeway and the beginning of Artesia Boulevard. According to a witness, the light was red, but the car drove straight through the intersection, striking a Honda Civic. Riad had only minor injuries, but the two people in the Civic, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves, died at the scene. Their families said that they were on a first date."

judge2020 4y ago
Excerpt from [1]: > There are few federal laws addressing automated driving. So, Mercedes Vice President of Automated Driving George Massing tells R&T, “we will probably have to deal with each individual state.” But the company plans to accept legal liability for what the car does while Drive Pilot is engaged. Uh.. is there any actual documentation about them taking liability? Some headlines are fine but not a webpage for submitting a claim or a legal document you can show to a court for why you'd like to introduce Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC as a party to a liability case.

spoils19 4y ago

Does anyone else feel like Tesla could have had it first, but Mercedes-Benz decided to pay off the US instead as it's now popular to hate Elon?

kube-system 4y ago
Tesla would have to remove features to meet the reliability bar for level 3. And they won’t ever do that, because their marketing angle is entirely reliant on equating “features” with “capability”. The fact of the matter is that the gee-whiz factor of seeing their cars navigate intersections is greater than the gee-whiz factor of lacking a notification that you must monitor the cars actions.
- charcircuit 4y ago
  You can keep the features and just gracefully downgrade to level 2 when necessary.
timeon 4y ago
Tesla is not reliable.
gambiting 4y ago
>> decided to pay off the US What does that even mean? How do you "pay off the US"? The congress? The President? The regulatory agencies? Also, isn't Elon the wealthiest man on the planet? If the issue was simply about "paying off" someone, surely Elon could have already done it ages ago? Or maybe Deimler is a serious corporation that actually knows what they are doing, and through rigorous engineering they know they can accept legal liability for their system, where other companies will not.

voz_ 4y ago

Very cool. This is the kind of progress I would expect here. Big players like Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, are going to take longer to get going, but when they do, they will have the execution and scale to do it far better than most tech companies. The initial tech hurdle is massive, but the space is won on logistics and consistency once the tech is solved.

merricksb 4y ago

Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34334925 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34334925

judge2020 4y ago
Not sure why this is a dupe, though. That submission is 10 days old and doesn't seem to have been given a second chance on the front page. @dang
- dang 4y ago
  That post spent 7 hours on the front page so this is definitely a dupe.

mensetmanusman 4y ago

“ As some of you may have heard, Mercedes-Benz has been granted regulatory approval to begin testing its Level 3 autonomous driving technology on Nevada roads.” The first sentence seems to contradict the headline. Approval to begin testing is not approval across the board.