Rivian boss says Level 4 autonomous driving is "much closer than people think", but Tesla is struggling to convince its own employees that the technology is reliable | Tech Radar
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Rivian boss says Level 4 autonomous driving is "much closer than people think", but Tesla is struggling to convince its own employees that the technology is reliable
Tesla staffers claim the company isn't close to safely delivering autonomous vehicles at scale
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Rivian’s boss believes we will have eyes-off driving within 18 months
It will be the “most disruptive feature we’ve seen”, according to RJ Scaringe
But a new report suggests Tesla engineers and staff don’t trust the technology
Rivian’s boss and CEO, RJ Scaringe, believes that we will see increasing levels of autonomous driving arriving in the coming months.
Speaking to Top Gear during a test drive of the upcoming R2, which the company hopes will be its first electric SUV with true mass appeal, Scaringe revealed that he thinks we will move from level two to three, which includes hands-off and eyes-off autonomous driving, within “the next 18 months”.
He also went on to state that he believes we will reach true Level 4 autonomous driving by the end of the decade. At that point, vehicles will be able to handle all driving tasks within geofenced zones.
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Human passengers are relieved of duties because Level 4 autonomous vehicles should be capable of reaching a safe state in the event of a system failure. It is the level that most fully autonomous robotaxis currently operate in, but it is not something that has been made commercially viable to date.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has regularly stated that the company’s autonomous driving technology is capable of allowing those behind the wheel to “text and drive", as well as engage in other distracting side tasks.
But a recent Reuters report seemingly counters this, claiming that even those who work closely with the systems don’t trust them.
Speaking with nine former Tesla data labelers, a former self-driving engineer, and 11 traffic-safety researchers, the Reuters report found that seven of the former data labelers said they wouldn’t trust FSD to drive them.
“We have all seen it fail,” one said. Another said he wouldn’t ride in a Tesla robotaxi “if you f****g paid me.”
One veteran self-driving engineer, who reviewed Tesla crash data for years, called its safety claims “bullsh*t.”
The report goes on to state that Tesla's FSD crash reporting is confusing and misleading, refuting its claims that the technology is "10 x safer than a human".
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The data labelers that Reuters spoke to have the unenviable job of reviewing footage from eight exterior cameras on Tesla vehicles using Full Self-Driving (FSD).
You could argue that they only see the bad sides of FSD, but most of those interviewed confessed to regularly seeing the technology fail at basic tasks, such as pulling over for emergency vehicles, leaving enough room for motorcyclists and cyclists, and even avoiding construction zones.
What’s more, a specialized group, known internally and informally as the “trauma team”, said it focused on near-misses and other dangerous situations.
One person said they saw clips showing drivers manually taking over at the last second when FSD failed to recognize pedestrians in crosswalks.
Two other former employees recalled seeing videos last year of FSD-piloted Teslas nearly hitting children.
Both Rivian and Tesla’s CEOs feel that improvements in Large Language Models and the microchips that power modern vehicles will speed up the introduction of greater levels of automation in passenger vehicles, but it’s way more complicated than that, involving driver education, legislation, and more.
Many feel that to allow motorists to engage in side tasks and effectively hand over driving duties to the vehicle means the technology has to be perfect, not just “safer than a human” driver.
Overinflating the technology's capabilities has previously led to confusion and complacency among users, which, in Tesla’s case at least, has already resulted in myriad court cases and ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
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Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.
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