Model 3 Deliveries via "Summoning"

[Dan Detweiler]

or maybe delivered by train and/or truck to the local service center, then inspected by the service center team and summoned to the owner's driveway for final delivery.

I see this as a much more viable option.

Dan

 

[ModelNforNerd]

In this scenario......

I imagine the keys are shipped to you separately and signed for with proper ID?


Not sure I'd want my car driving by itself with the keys inside unmanned for hundreds of miles.

 

[JeffK]

XKCD is going to need to update this one. Tesla has just eliminated the need for the rock. And no "Vroooom", of course...

uhh, I hope they've eliminated the crashing part of that comic too...

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I'll tell you what: I wouldn't let my car belong to a fleet, however I wouldn't mind allowing my parents to summon my car and letting it take them to the store and/or anywhere they would want to go.
I also wouldn't mind my car taking me to work then returning home to take my wife to work. That way we would only need 1 car.

I'm not sure what my Insurance Company would say if my driverless AP car got into an accident with a non AP car. How will they know who's fault the accident is? Are my insurance rates going to sky rocket?

Will I have to tell my insurance company that I purchased AP or not? They will automatically know that my car comes with the hardware.

I have a lot more questions.

My wife and I had this talk after Elon's announcement.

I go into Boston by train, and we only live 5 miles from the station. I could ostensibly drive to the station and "release" the car back to her, so she can take it to her job. She can either keep the car with her, or send it home. I would then summon it in the afternoon to pick me up at the commuter rail stop. Once it drops me off at home, she can summon it to pick her up.

Restaurants that offer curbside pickup could definitely benefit if they find a way to accommodate autonomous Teslas, especially if we have the ability to open/close and lock/unlock doors and windows remotely.

Shuttling elderly parents around town just got infinitely easier. Long distance trips? No problem, take a nap. Will new software allow you to play video on the center console screen if the car is in autonomous and you're not driving?

The possibilities are endless. It's kind of exciting.

 

[zenmaster]

Suddenly, this idea just went from fantasy to realistic. Maybe not 2017, but maybe 2018 or 19. Woah.

I wonder if there will be standardized tests for various possible driving conditions. The easy scenarios may constitute most driving conditions, but performing as well as a person in all cases is well beyond a few years.

 

[Model 3]

Are my insurance rates going to sky rocket?

Will I have to tell my insurance company that I purchased AP or not?

I have a lot more questions.

Yes, Yes and Yes

 

[dsvick]

My wife and I had this talk after Elon's announcement.

The possibilities are endless. It's kind of exciting.

My wife and I were talking about it last night. Right now she leaves work early to go get our son from school and take him home (no bussing), I told her eventually she could just send the car to get him, take him home, then go back to work to get her.

 

[malcolm]

Can you imagine the state of summoned cars? Especially when you summon the car in the morning after it has just got finished summoning a group of drunks. Can you imagine the smell?

No thanks. I'm going to buy my own.

I was thinking more Car Club rather than Taxi Service.

Summoners would have to register/pay a subscription fee. Might be available at different levels: Silver, Gold, Platinum.

Penalties for those who abuse the system. Could be run through some sort of third party - I'm sure Hertz are paying attention.

 

[LectrikPower]

I wonder if there will be standardized tests for various possible driving conditions. The easy scenarios may constitute most driving conditions, but performing as well as a person in all cases is well beyond a few years.

I imagine some nonstandard street tangled up with a bunch of selfies that can't get out, lol.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I imagine some nonstandard street tangled up with a bunch of selfies that can't get out, lol.

basically any mall parking lot during Christmas shopping season.

 

[Model 3]

Could be run through some sort of third party - I'm sure Hertz are paying attention.

According to Tesla it has to be run by Tesla if you intend to use it self driving features.

 

[zenmaster]

basically any mall parking lot during Christmas shopping season.

How about the city of Rome, in general? Or even London. Good luck with that. Mobileye has it right on. In many circumstances, you'd need the car to inch forward or swerve occasionally, when merging or when negotiating cross traffic without aid of signals, to express intent to nearby drivers, otherwise you'd be stuck at same place or blocking traffic or missing your turn off.

I'm glad there is a next generation of hardware, but not convinced it can provide the necessary sensing for level 4 autonomy. I'd like to see one of those cameras look upwards to a utility pool convex mirror to understand approaching traffic patterns necessary to negotiate entrance from a blind driveway. Or even lacking the mirror, use a microphone to hear traffic coming around a nearby blind bend. These are trivial for a person, but difficult for AP.

 

[Model 3]

In many circumstances, you'd need the car to inch forward or swerve occasionally, when merging or when negotiating cross traffic without aid of signals, to express intent to nearby drivers, otherwise you'd be stuck at same place or blocking traffic or missing your turn off.

And then the next question is "Is this the fault of the autonomous car or the manual driven cars?". And then "What and/or who has to be fixed? The car or the manual drivers? Or the traffic light/signes?"

 

[ModelNforNerd]

And then the next question is "Is this the fault of the autonomous car or the manual driven cars?". And then "What and/or who has to be fixed? The car or the manual drivers? Or the traffic light/signes?"

Let's face it... Most European towns and cities weren't designed with any type of motorized transport in mind.

 

[dsvick]

What would a car running without a driver do if a cop tried to pull it over? Would it recognize the lights and pull over? If it did, to what end?

 

[Model 3]

Let's face it... Most European towns and cities weren't designed with any type of motorized transport in mind.

True. And some are starting to ban (unauthorized) motorized transport from their inner city. Augustus even banned all wheeled transport from the city of Rome during the daytime.

 

[zenmaster]

And then the next question is "Is this the fault of the autonomous car or the manual driven cars?". And then "What and/or who has to be fixed? The car or the manual drivers? Or the traffic light/signes?"

The first part can be addressed by historical precedent: how likely same or similar situation was handled w/o incident by people.

What needs to change as far as people's behavior, signs, etc... Legislation to accommodate the autonomous vehicle limitations is going to come from social pressure lead by the industry. People have no idea what limitations they're willing to accept now, but that will change once some degree of self-driving tech capability becomes indispensable to the everyday lives of a sufficient critical mass. By then we will have categorized the actual capability of autonomous cars into a much finer granularity of levels. Level 4 "full autonomy" for all possible cases is only a pipe dream. In reality near term tech will only be partially autonomous, even if it can be fully autonomous in 99% of situations.

Ultimately I believe AI and sensor tech will be sophisticated enough to function as well as a person in all driving situations, but that'll be another generation.

 

[tsla007]

only if snake charging is implemented which won't-it'll take too long to replace all those wires/chargers.

 

[Model 3]

how likely same or similar situation was handled w/o incident by people.

In many circumstances, you'd need the car to inch forward or swerve occasionally, when merging or when negotiating cross traffic without aid of signals, to express intent to nearby drivers, ...

This described behavior - that I responded to - does usually end without an incident, but sometimes they does not... So this can not be seen as "safe behavior" - neither by humans or robots. And that was my point in my previous answer to you.

I have no problem with agreeing with the rest of your post

 

[Omer]

Remember that Tesla is also producing Tesla Semi. So the fleet of driverless trucks will probably deliver the cars.