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When this effort started, the buzz on HN was not if, but when all human driven cars would go away. Uber was going to replace expensive independent contractors w
by Spooky23 3y ago
When this effort started, the buzz on HN was not if, but when all human driven cars would go away. Uber was going to replace expensive independent contractors with $300k magic cars.
Nobody buys that nonsense anymore. So what’s the point of entering a crowded market.
- bruce511 3y agoThe argument is still When not If. But yes, the timelines were originally optimistic (and seemed so.) But self driving cars are inevitable on some timeline. Their advantages over self-driving are simply too significant to ignore. And the space will be insanely valuable in the long run. We've seen this pattern before. Video phones were predicted back in the 50s as being "any decade now but I would take 50 years or so to be "everywhere". Some things are inherently fanciful (flying personal transport for all) because of physics, but there are no such limits with self-driving cars.
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoYa, self driving cars are just acting as taxis in a couple of cities.
- Spooky23 3y agoAt pretty small scale. It seems unlikely that such a capital intensive business would make sense long term.
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoIf by "small scale" you mean, widely available in the areas they serve, then I agree. > It seems unlikely that such a capital intensive business would make sense long term. People are only getting more expensive, and the tech is only getting cheaper.