According to a recent report from Morgan Stanley, following an meeting with Tesla, the electric carmaker’s planned Austin robotaxi fleet is likely to rely heavily on “loads of teleoperation” due to its emphasis that the system “can’t screw up”.
Rarely will you hear something negative about Tesla from Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley’s Tesla analyst, Adam Jonas, is often portrayed as a stalwart supporter of the electric vehicle maker due to his consistently optimistic stance towards the company. Despite his skepticism, he often allows for a brief pause in implementing Elon Musk’s plans before committing to them.
Recently, Jonas convened with Tesla executives, accompanied by potential customers, to unveil a groundbreaking innovation he had been working on, drawing inspiration from his interactions during the meeting with the electric car pioneer.
The company is set to deploy a deliberate “robotaxi” service in Austin next month, which will rely heavily on human operators to ensure safety standards are met.
While Austin’s fleet size may initially appear low, a more accurate assessment would likely reveal its actual capacity to adapt and respond effectively in various scenarios. Suppose 10 to twenty automobiles. Public roads. Invite solely. A plethora of telecommunications operators are deployed to ensure the integrity of security protocols (“we won’t compromise”) Nonetheless ready for a date.
Teleoperations, also known as ‘tele ops’, enables Tesla employees to access and operate vehicles remotely, allowing for various capabilities.
Last year, reports surfaced indicating that Tesla started recruiting for its teleoperation team prior to the Robotaxi launch in Austin.
Extensive reports have revealed significant divergence between Tesla’s actual deployment of autonomous vehicles in Austin and previously announced plans for unsupervised full self-driving capabilities in customer cars.
Tesla plans to deploy 10-20 Mannequin Y vehicles in Austin, Texas, within a geo-fenced space for ride-hailing companies utilizing its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. Unlike current products, these vehicles won’t have a driver on board, instead relying on remote workers to supervise the autonomous cars.
The planned launch date for the new service is scheduled for June.
Electrek’s Take
It’s puzzling to me why anyone would muster genuine excitement over this. While the new Full Self-Driving (FSD) version will surpass its current counterpart, which has been stagnant for months as Tesla prioritizes refining the technology for deployment in Austin, the system’s primary nature will remain largely supervised, albeit with remote oversight.
While some speculate that Tesla might struggle to meet its deadline, potentially resorting to using safety drivers, I’m uncertain about the outcome. I’m currently uncertain, leaning slightly towards confirming my earlier forecast.
Although distant supervisors may seem like a minor achievement for Tesla, it’s a notable milestone considering Waymo’s long-standing dominance in the field.
Here is the rewritten text:
When Tesla initially marketed its vehicles, it promised that customers’ privately owned cars would eventually become fully autonomous, requiring no human oversight – a promise that still seems distant. The ultimate goal of this endeavour is undoubtedly to divert attention away from the harsh truth.
