Electric vehicles – Page 8541 – I wish I had more to offer

German Manager Magazin: Car manufacturers give more discounts – highest discounts on electric cars000003

On the German Car market prices drop for end users. According to the regular discount study conducted by the Duisburg CAR Institute, dealers and manufacturers tweaked all available screws for discounts in July. The lower VAT had a particular impact on the internet offer prices of 30 popular models, which were on average 22.5 percent… Continue reading German Manager Magazin: Car manufacturers give more discounts – highest discounts on electric cars000003

German Manager Magazin: Audi AG: Markus Duesmann000002’s comeback plan

The long shutdown of auto factories and car dealers and the slump in customer demand haveAudilet it slide deep into the red. The VW subsidiary sold 22 percent fewer cars worldwide in the first half of the year, sales fell 29 percent to only 20.5 billion euros and the operating loss was 750 million euros.… Continue reading German Manager Magazin: Audi AG: Markus Duesmann000002’s comeback plan

German Manager Magazin: Northvolt Secures $ 1.6 Billion for Battery Factory000001

The Swedish Battery producer Northvolthas secured loans totaling $ 1.6 billion for the massive expansion of its production. The company announced on Wednesday in Stockholm. Donors include other banks, pension funds and financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provides $ 350 million. This enables the company, which as a partner as from… Continue reading German Manager Magazin: Northvolt Secures $ 1.6 Billion for Battery Factory000001

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng said to raise another $300m

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng Motors has raised an additional $300 million from investors including Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, people familiar with the matter said. As enthusiasm builds for EVs, shares of their makers such as Tesla Inc and Nio Inc have surged in recent months and automakers are looking to the markets for funds. Six-year-old Xpeng,… Continue reading Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng said to raise another $300m

China embarks on charm offensive toward Japanese companies

BEIJING — At a symposium with entrepreneurs in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the founder of Japanese electronics company Panasonic as a visionary alongside the likes of Thomas Edison. “Konosuke Matsushita was not only an authority on management, but an authority on innovation,” the leader said at the event in Beijing. A Panasonic representative was among… Continue reading China embarks on charm offensive toward Japanese companies

Japan’s battery startups take the world beyond lithium ion

OSAKA — Companies racing to introduce the successor to the batteries that power everything from our smartphones to drones to electric cars are closing in on their goal. But they are not alone. Startups have joined the fray to develop technologies for higher-performance power packs that can relegate today’s lithium-ion batteries to an earlier stage… Continue reading Japan’s battery startups take the world beyond lithium ion

George Hotz: “Tesla’s Going To Win Level 5”

Tesla News
EV News
Solar News
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Privacy Policy
Invest
Advertise
RSS
Contact

Autonomous Vehicles

Published on August 1st, 2020 |

by Johnna Crider

George Hotz: “Tesla’s Going To Win Level 5”

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

August 1st, 2020 by Johnna Crider

In his “Artificial Intelligence Podcast” series, Lex Fridman interviewed George Hotz, the founder of Comm.ai (among many other things), in the middle of 2019. Comma.ai focuses on machine learning–based vehicle automation. In the almost 2 hour podcast, Hotz shared his thoughts on a variety of things, including a lengthy discussion of Tesla’s efforts toward Level 5 autonomy.

About 39 minutes into the podcast, Fridman shared his thoughts about Tesla and Autonomy Day and noted that he hoped Tesla would continue in the direction it’s going in. “On Autonomy Day, they did reveal more than — I mean, of course there’s marketing communications you can tell — but it’s more than most companies would reveal, which is … I hope they go towards that direction more — other companies, GM, Ford,” Fridman said.

“Oh! Tesla’s gonna win Level 5. They really are,” Hotz said. As he said that, you could see passion pour into his eyes as he spoke.

“So let’s talk about it,” Fridman said. Hotz explained that Comma.ai is going to be 1–2 years behind Tesla getting to Level 5. “I just think once Tesla gets it, we’re 1–2 years behind.” In a short Q&A with CleanTechnica in 2017 at the rEVolution conference in Paris (which Hotz had to join via webcast after missing his flight from California), Hotz said that Comma.ai would be the Android of self-driving cars whereas Tesla would be the Apple of them. (See the video below.) He repeated that metaphor in the interview with Fridman.

In this 2019 interview, he specifically said that he wasn’t going to make a timeline as to when Tesla would achieve Level 5 (since that’s very hard to predict and isn’t close enough), and he also followed up with a message for Tesla fans and investors: “I’m sorry, Tesla investors, if you think you’re going to have an autonomous robotaxi fleet by the end of the year, I’ll bet against that.” He was certainly right. It is now August 2020 and Tesla vehicles still don’t have the basics of “Full Self Driving” capability.

Fridman’s next question is on Hotz’s thoughts on Tesla’s focus on lane keeping and full autonomy while other Level 4 companies are just focusing on safety. “What do you think about that approach, how successful would it be?”

“A ton better approach. Because Tesla is gathering data on a scale that none of them are. They’re putting real users behind the wheel of cars. It is, I think, the only strategy that works,” Hotz replied.

What Will Happen To The Auto Industry Once Tesla Masters Level 5?
Tesla started out as an automaker with just one car that was well out of the league of many American paychecks. Branded as a luxury automaker at first, it began to evolve. In order for Tesla to achieve all that it has, though, it had to be something that was exclusive for only those who could afford it. That money could have gone into buying private islands, throwing lavish parties, or wasted on drugs — but, instead, it was invested into the future.

Today, Tesla is more than just an automaker. It has become a tech company that rivals not just legacy automakers, but companies such as Nvidia and Intel as well in certain areas. It’s also become an energy company that rivals electric and utility companies — but that’s a topic for another day.

Hotz and Fridman discussed robotaxis a bit, and predicted that Tesla would be first. He doesn’t know when it will happen, but his mission is to be there before others, while acknowledging that Tesla will beat Comma.ai by a couple of years. It was hard for many to see Tesla moving from the original Roadster to the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, but that’s what has happened. It is hard to imagine Tesla robotaxis really hitting the roads, but Hotz — one of the top experts in this field — sees it as happening. We just don’t know when. Once Tesla paves the way and then other companies such as Comma.ai achieve Level 5, another door into a dimension of possibilities will be opened.

When it comes to jumping into an industry and completely reshaping it, Tesla seems to have a very powerful gift — a gift for innovation and execution. If the company executes “the impossible” again, the entire transportation industry will change.

Related Story: Geohot: Tesla Autopilot = Apple iOS, Comma.ai = Android (CleanTechnica Exclusive)
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Send us an email: tips@cleantechnica.com

Latest Cleantech Talk Episodes

Latest CleanTechnica.TV Episode

About the Author

Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem, and mineral collector, member of the International Gem Society, and a Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.”

Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

Power CleanTechnica: $3/Month

DPD Electrified 10% Of Its Van Fleet Ahead Of Schedule

The British division of DPD boasted that it has increased the number of EVs from just over 130 at the start of 2020, to more than 700, smashing its own target by five months. That’s more than 10% of the entire fleet. It makes also DPD UK the biggest electric delivery fleet in the country. The… Continue reading DPD Electrified 10% Of Its Van Fleet Ahead Of Schedule

SEAT, Iberdrola And VW Join Forces To Boost E-Mobility In Spain

SEAT, Iberdrola and Volkswagen Group España Distribución join forces to boost electric mobility in Spain They agree on the need for joint work between the main agents and on the opportunity to configure an ecosystem that enables our country to spearhead this area in Europe Signing of a strategic agreement to promote the creation of… Continue reading SEAT, Iberdrola And VW Join Forces To Boost E-Mobility In Spain

A YouTuber whose Tesla videos have over 30 million views breaks down how to create an ‘information gap’ with your title and thumbnail to boost your click-through rate

Paying close attention to your YouTube titles and thumbnails is critical if you want people to click on them, according to Ben Sullins, who makes videos about Tesla and electric vehicles. Sullins’ strategy is to create an ‘information gap’ by posing a question the viewer wants answered. Sullins has over 200,000 subscribers, and his videos… Continue reading A YouTuber whose Tesla videos have over 30 million views breaks down how to create an ‘information gap’ with your title and thumbnail to boost your click-through rate