192

Imagine a taxi that can't operate in the rain. That is what Tesla has delivered in Austin TX.

These riders learned that the hard way, but don't have anything particularly negative to say about it... That's the advantage of only making a Robotaxi service available to hand-picked Tesla influencers.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 44 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Something is very wrong in this universe since Elon Musk continues to earn more and more money.

EDIT: Because he doesn’t have enough! And can’t think of anything fucking better to do with his time!

[-] kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 1 month ago

Earn is a strong word. He obtains more money.

[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago
[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago
[-] Mnemnosyne@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

....you know, I never thought of it that way before but yeah, the way our economic system is designed, money is like gravity. Once it passes a certain threshold, it just...accretes.

And much like gravity it would take a rare and exceptionally violent event to break that hold and scatter it again in a way it won't just pull back together.

[-] MnemonicBump@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

earn more and more money

STEAL more and more money

FTFY

[-] jonne@infosec.pub 6 points 1 month ago

Because it's all government subsidies/contracts.

[-] jaybone@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 month ago

We pay him. Involuntarily. That’s how “capitalism” is supposed to work. Right?

[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Far as I can tell, he's losing money, just not fast enough to choke him to death.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Manual override: on.

[-] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 27 points 1 month ago

This article is TERRORISM because it Probably HURTS ELONS FEELINGS!

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

"don't call me a snowflake, YOU'RE the snowflake!"

[-] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago

But I thought cameras > LiDar?🥴

[-] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 month ago

The kid mannequin didn't think so.

[-] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 13 points 1 month ago

The kid mannequin doesn't do much thinking anymore, RIP <3

[-] Zorque@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago
[-] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 11 points 1 month ago

Well it had a chance of finishing its education, before it got Musked while getting off the school bus

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Right before it wile E. coyote'd itself.

[-] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

I mean to do a little devils advocate here he did say in terms of cost... not in terms of quality.

and quality is as we all know not important for self driving vehicles...

/s

[-] Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 1 month ago

For anyone wondering waymos (Google driverless cars) handle rain just fine as far as I've seen, and they have service in Austin. Idk why you would ever choose to take a tesla taxi.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month ago

For the thrill of a highly possible, but statistically improbable, violent death?

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Thrill seekers gonna seek thrills.

[-] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

for a robotaxi that has a driver for "safety"! Congratulations, Elon. You invented a taxi!

[-] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 month ago

even if they did, i'd still walk in the rain before riding in one of those fucking things

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I have as much of a chance in the trunk of a mob owned Chevy celebrity as I do in a Tesla. At least I can try to talk the mob down.

[-] jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago
[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

looks around desperately for boxy 80s cars "phew!" I exclaim, whilst not noticing the Tesla wiggling it's ass in the bushes while stalking me.

[-] parody@lemmings.world 6 points 1 month ago

Distracting af. Anyone have a copy of the video without such noisy ball gargling throughout?

[-] protist@mander.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

I watched a minute of that YouTube video and feel so sorry for those people

[-] harrys_balzac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago

Don't. They're handpicked Elon bootlickers.

[-] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Let those peasants pull their bootstraps and find their own way home if it's raining!

[-] huppakee@feddit.nl 3 points 1 month ago

Tesla: We need to release the product to the public asap, how else are we gonna create something that really works?

VW: https://youtu.be/Vaa3QH2hzRs

[-] protist@mander.xyz 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Google (Waymo) already has an entire fleet of autonomous vehicles available for hire in Austin and many other cities. Amazon (Zoox) has been testing on the roads in Austin for over a year now. Both have thus far seemed to be doing really well from a safety perspective. But then again, like VW, they're using lidar and can see through rain, fog, and night.

From a business perspective, Google and Amazon have diverse revenue streams and the deepest pockets imaginable, and will crush Tesla, whose only other sources of revenue are actively drying up.

[-] chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 month ago

All of this is so plainly obvious, along with how shitty Tesla is as a company. But TSLA somehow keeps its overinflated value.

I don't understand it.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

It's a meme stock. Game stop on ketamine.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Forgive my ignorance, but why is Tesla using cameras and not LIDAR?

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Because Elon has far more influence than intelligence.

[-] lowered_lifted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

They used to use LIDAR but Musk decided the hardware cost too much

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago
[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago
[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

What’s it cost to hire an assassin? Teslas might be cheaper.

Less reliable, though.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

The one good thing about the Tesla implosion is the increased attention on Zoox

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Why am I just now noticing Tesla’s logo looks exactly like an IUD?

[-] 4grams@awful.systems 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This shit is so bonkers stupid it’s broken my brain. Who fucking cares about driverless cabs, who hasn’t been on a theme park ride in the last 10 years and hasn’t seen driverless cars coming. Big fucking deal, was the world screaming for more cabs? What is materially is better about a cab ride with someone sitting in the passenger seat, vs. the drivers seat?

I get its innovation, and inevitable, so who fucking cares about the hype. Why do these fuckers care about the aesthetics of their cab ride? IMHO, without a driver, I want to see a fucking ectomobile of sensors, that would be beauty to me, being able to see the shit that’s keeping me safe.

Ugh, everything is so goddamned stupid, we have become so goddamned easy to impress. Fine, we can have all the future shit that the movies promised, but what will it actually do, what will it actually solve?

A robotaxi solves ONE issue, the cost of paying a driver. That is not something that impacts me, so who fucking cares. I like having a stranger to talk to while I ride, nice getting some new perspective.

[-] lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

I totally agree.

Remember when the price of groceries came down because of all the self-checkouts? Like, are his taxis going to be significantly cheaper than other providers? If not, why would I use them?

I really think the investors who are like "Tesla shares are worth $450 each because of robotaxis" really haven't thought this one through. A driverless taxi is only better for the Taxi company. The experience for the user is worse in every way. If you want to charge the same as a regular taxi, your service has to be better. Who is going to help me with my luggage? Uh oh, storm clouds. I guess I will WALK IN THE RAIN.

I know there are some real idiots out there, but let's break down the characteristics of a Tesla robotaxi customer:

  • must be stupid
  • must like walking in bad weather / getting stranded in random locations
  • must like paying more for less
  • must be ok with nazis

I'm no stock analyst, but I am confident in my $0.00 valuation of Tesla shares.

[-] MangoCats@feddit.it 0 points 1 month ago

are his taxis going to be significantly cheaper than other providers? If not, why would I use them?

I had that one taxi driver in Philadelphia who took me on a 40 minute tour of the city for a 6 minute hop from my hotel to the place I needed to be. Running red lights, making wild lane changes across traffic... he was an anomaly, but one you don't quickly forget. Then there are the taxi drivers from SFO to downtown San Francisco doing 80-85 in their clapped out 680,000 mile Caprices. The fact that there aren't crumpled yellow Caprices lining the sides of the expressway is small comfort as you bounce along on completely dysfunctional shock absorbers flying after every pothole - occasional sparks flying on the touchdowns. I've taken that ride a half dozen times across a span of 20 years, it's always been like that for me.

[-] lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

Yeah, at least the Teslas are new (right now). I haven’t had the same experience with shoddy cabs, but i am in a different part of the world. I can see the appeal of being in a newer, cleaner vehicle.

[-] Lucelu2@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

there are people driving regular taxis with clean cars..also ubers/lifts.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2025
192 points (99.5% liked)

Not The Onion

17544 readers
215 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

  1. Links to news stories from...
  2. ...credible sources, with...
  3. ...their original headlines, that...
  4. ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Please also avoid duplicates.

Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS