Tesla’s reveal of a robotaxi designed as a low-slung, two-seater, sporty coupe - quite the opposite of a typical taxi with room for several passengers and luggage - flummoxed investors and analysts.

But in true Musk style, he skipped over expectations of how a two-seater robotaxi would serve the needs of families headed to a restaurant or to the airport, or if he expected these to appeal only to a niche clientele.

Investors jeered the design and the lack of financial detail, with Tesla stocks tumbling 9% on Wall Street on Friday.

“When you think of a cab, you think of something that’s going to carry more than two people,” said Jonathan Elfalan, vehicle testing director for the automotive website Edmunds.com. “Making this a two-seat-only car is very perplexing.”

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 hour ago

    Investors jeered the design and the lack of financial detail, with Tesla stocks tumbling 9% on Wall Street on Friday.

    I didn’t realize this stupid vehicle was a two-seater. What a dumbass move.

  • Dogiedog64@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    What a fucking moron. Dude is so goddamn stupid that every decision he makes is the wrong one. And yet people keep defending him…

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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    7 hours ago

    He’s been at the point for some time where he believes being “contrarian” is the same as being “smart”.

  • blady_blah@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    The real problem that he failed to show any progress on self-driving. Self-driving has been 2 years away for the past 6 years and that’s the only real thing that will pull Tesla out of a downward spiral. Tesla stock is stupidly overpriced and competitors are catching up.

    With nothing but empty promises, people are starting to realize that the emperor has no clothes. And really, who wants to see Musk naked? …that’s a bag nobody wants to be left holding.

  • Steve@communick.news
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    20 hours ago

    I’m sure he’s imagining commuter clients using it to go to work every day on a subscription.

    • actually@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      In all fairness the critics simply have to get high on drugs to see the car as it was meant to be viewed.

      It seems selfish they are not

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        How often do you think Elon drives while blasted out of his mind on ketamine? Because I bet it’s a nonzero number.

  • HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com
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    19 hours ago

    Seems like the minivan is really the right thing. Can share with multiple folks or have a significant amount of luggage for the airport or such. Easier to serve the handicapped.

  • Zier@fedia.io
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    23 hours ago

    I’ll take the bus, thanks. At least I will arrive alive at my destination.

    • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      But think of the opportunity cost here, you’d be wasting a chance to run over a child or a poor person!

      • Zier@fedia.io
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        14 hours ago

        I’m only taking this chance if I know elon will be in the road on my route at some point. Someone’s gonna get the X!

  • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    It looks like they were working on the new roadster and Elmo told them they were switching to a driverless cab.

    If it were a sports car it would probably sell really well because it’s got the doors that open like this

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      We’ll have FSD as soon as we get those flying cars with AGI I’ve been told are a few years away my entire life.

      Space colonies too.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          Along with what @Bassman1805 says, San Francisco has a small footprint and most of it is laid out in grids, making navigation easier.

          Plus, it’s not a problem-free implementation by any means.

          https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/san-francisco-autonomous-vehicles-robotaxis-b2391158.html

          https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco/san-francisco-neighbors-say-repeated-waymo-honking-is-keeping-them-up-at-night/3622181/

          On top of that, it’s way too easy to make them stop working. Not too easy for passengers, too easy for everyone else.

          https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/1195695051/driverless-cars-san-francisco-waymo-cruise

          • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 hour ago

            Unlike the other things you mentioned, full self driving taxis do exist, they are being rolled out in actual markets with customers, and despite the problems you mentioned they are safer than human drivers and overall have improved my life as a pedestrian (sorry, anecdote). It may not be the perfect generalized scifi version you have in your head that makes you compare it with flying cars or AGI, but it is here.

            And, what - Musk’s version won’t have to overcome those problems?

            He’s years behind the competition in his own timeline, and as all the other commenters have pointed out he never even delivers according to that timeline.

            Meanwhile he’s announced a version of something that that already exists and is telling his customers and shareholders that in his best case scenario, he will be 3 years late to market - and it is a fast moving market, he falls further behind with every month that passes.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 hour ago

              Is the “safer the human drivers” part also an anecdote? I’d like to see the evidence. As far as I know, that’s not actually public information. I’d like to know if it includes things like impeding emergency vehicles, or the situation in one of the articles above where the taxi kept going toward the fire hoses while the fire department was trying to put out a fire.

              • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
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                12 minutes ago

                It’s part anecdote, in that I personally feel safer when I see a waymo coming than a human driver; but they also are required to report to government organizations as part of their operating agreement with the county/state. From my understanding, waymo’s collisions-per-mile are a fraction of human drivers. Here’s some random article I found if it helps https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2024/09/05/waymos-new-safety-data-is-impressive-and-teaches-a-lesson/. But I’m really just reporting my experience here from the ground.

                As a counterexample, Cruise was recently suspended by SF and fined by NHTSA for trying to avoid reporting their traffic incidents.

                As for the rest, you’ve got a handful of isolated incidents you’re just-asking-questions about when there are incidents every single day of human drivers doing worse, with provable loss of life.

                If you don’t think the tech is up to snuff, take it up with NHTSA who clearly disagrees.

                But all of this is a tangent - none of this negates the fact that self driving exists and I can hop in one just as quick as I can get an uber.

                We’ll have to keep waiting for the space colonies I guess.

        • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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          12 hours ago

          Those also use a combination of many different sensors to see the road around them, while Tesla stubbornly refuses to use anything except vision because that’s how humans do it. Nevermind that even with our best AI models, we’ve never even approximated how the human brain works.

          • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 hour ago

            Yes, good reasons why his version will never come to market - which he is already late to. His lunch has been eaten, so to speak.

    • hddsx@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      Musk and “FSD is coming next year” is like Trump and “I only want to be dictator for a day”.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    It may only have 2 seats, but didn’t they notice the tires are painted gold. That’s an awesome design decision right there! /s
    The 2 seats are probably meant to keep the death toll low. 😋

    But if they thought the robotaxi was weird, that was nothing compared to the robovan. Almost no clearance and almost no windows, and then Musk exclaimed: Yes! We are gonna build it like that! It’s siiick.

    neither robo- taxi or van are likely to be moneymakers. They’ll be a sinkhole of development cost, that will never come to market.

    But more are probably finally catching on, with an event causing the stock to drop 9%.
    It’s kind of hilarious that Enron Musks attempt to pump the stock failed so bad. 😋