Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company plans to roll out robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals by 2024.

The announcement came after the world's largest electric-vehicle maker recorded a strong net profit of US $3.3 billion in the March quarter.

Quarterly revenue stood at $18.8 billion, beating estimates for $17.9 billion, and up 81 per cent year-on-year. Earnings per share came in at $2.86, compared with expectations for $2.27, and adjusted earnings per share were $3.22.

The autonomous rideshare service will cost as much as a subsidised subway ticket, Musk said. Though it remains to be seen how cheap can he sell the robotaxi,&nbsp;considering that Tesla is known for selling expensive electric cars.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It's fundamentally optimised for trying to achieve the lowest fully considered cost per mile, cost per kilometre, accounting everything," The Business Insider quoted Musk as saying.

"I think that really will be a massive driver of Tesla's growth."

Musk said that Tesla Robotaxi will also contain a “number of other innovations” though he did not elaborate how innovative it would be.

Musk first mentioned about the robotaxi earlier this month at Tesla’s Austin gigafactory opening, where he outlined a variety of future products&nbsp;including Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot concept.

The 50-year-old said that these “futuristic products” would mark Tesla’s departure from its passenger car business, which generates the bulk of its profits today.

"Optimus ultimately will be worth more than the car business, worth more than FSD," he said.

&nbsp;Tesla has been hit by supply-chain issues, with its factories running below capacity for the last several quarters.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-takeover-elon-musk-secures-465bn-to-buy-twitter-in-hostile-bid-472777">Twitter takeover: Elon Musk secures $46.5bn to buy Twitter in hostile bid</a>

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, which was responsible for half the company's global production last year, had been impacted by a surge in COVID-19 cases&nbsp;in China.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-how-is-elon-musk-connected-to-the-johnny-depp--amber-heard-defamation-case-472374">How is Elon Musk connected to the Johnny Depp- Amber Heard defamation case?</a>

But after the local authorities decided to ease some of the restrictions, a measured restarting of production has begun.

(With inputs from agencies)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company plans to roll out robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals by 2024. The announcement came after the world's largest electric-vehicle maker recorded a strong net profit of US $3.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company plans to roll out robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals by 2024. The announcement came after the world's largest electric-vehicle maker recorded a strong net profit of US $3.3 billion in the March quarter. Quarterly revenue stood at $18.8 billion, beating estimates for $17.9 billion, and up 81 per cent year-on-year. Earnings per share came in at $2.86, compared with expectations for $2.27, and adjusted earnings per share were $3.22. The autonomous rideshare service will cost as much as a subsidised subway ticket, Musk said. Though it remains to be seen how cheap can he sell the robotaxi, considering that Tesla is known for selling expensive electric cars. “It's fundamentally optimised for trying to achieve the lowest fully considered cost per mile, cost per kilometre, accounting everything," The Business Insider quoted Musk as saying. "I think that really will be a massive driver of Tesla's growth." Musk said that Tesla Robotaxi will also contain a “number of other innovations” though he did not elaborate how innovative it would be. Musk first mentioned about the robotaxi earlier this month at Tesla’s Austin gigafactory opening, where he outlined a variety of future products including Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot concept. The 50-year-old said that these “futuristic products” would mark Tesla’s departure from its passenger car business, which generates the bulk of its profits today. "Optimus ultimately will be worth more than the car business, worth more than FSD," he said. Tesla has been hit by supply-chain issues, with its factories running below capacity for the last several quarters. Also read | Twitter takeover: Elon Musk secures $46.5bn to buy Twitter in hostile bid Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, which was responsible for half the company's global production last year, had been impacted by a surge in COVID-19 cases in China. Also Read | How is Elon Musk connected to the Johnny Depp- Amber Heard defamation case? But after the local authorities decided to ease some of the restrictions, a measured restarting of production has begun. (With inputs from agencies)

Elon Musk announces to roll out robotaxi with no wheels or pedals by 2024

United Kingdom is bringing major changes to its Highway Code to cover the motorists who use self-driving cars.

Under the proposed changes, the motorists of these cars can now binge on movies, play games and even scroll through websites if the drivers keep in a single lane and below 37 mph (59.5 kph).

Moreover, the drivers won’t be even liable for any accidents that take place when the car is self-driving.

The proposal by the Department for&nbsp;Transport&nbsp;(DfT) states that the insurance firms would be liable for accidents when it is in self-driving mode.

However, the drivers must be ready to resume control of their cars in a timely fashion– such as when they approach motorway exits.

It will remain illegal to use a phone behind the wheel.

The government has described these as interim measures to support the early rollout of self-driving vehicles in UK which could take place this year.

Trudy Harrison, a transport minister, said these changes were proposed following a public consultation and would be a “major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles”, which would “revolutionise the way we travel”, The Guardian reported.

&nbsp;“This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and we’re ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads,” she was quoted as saying.

“In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain’s place as a global science superpower,” she added.

According to the Daily Mail, these updates will be made to the Highway Code to legalise driverless technology before full regulations are introduced in 2025.

Even though UK has expressed optimism over the safety of self-driving cars, the United States, where the use of technology is advanced, has witnessed various mishaps.

In 2018, a 19-year-old pedestrian was killed by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona.

Investigators said the car’s safety driver, Rafaela Vasquez, had been streaming an episode of The Voice. She is awaiting a homicide trial.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: How safe are self-driving cars?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-how-safe-are-self-driving-cars-378886/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

(With inputs from agencies)

United Kingdom is bringing major changes to its Highway Code to cover the motorists who use self-driving cars. Under the proposed changes, the motorists of these cars can now binge on movies, play games and even scroll through websites if the drivers keep in a single lane and below 37 mph (59.

United Kingdom is bringing major changes to its Highway Code to cover the motorists who use self-driving cars. Under the proposed changes, the motorists of these cars can now binge on movies, play games and even scroll through websites if the drivers keep in a single lane and below 37 mph (59.5 kph). Moreover, the drivers won’t be even liable for any accidents that take place when the car is self-driving. The proposal by the Department for Transport (DfT) states that the insurance firms would be liable for accidents when it is in self-driving mode. However, the drivers must be ready to resume control of their cars in a timely fashion– such as when they approach motorway exits. It will remain illegal to use a phone behind the wheel. The government has described these as interim measures to support the early rollout of self-driving vehicles in UK which could take place this year. Trudy Harrison, a transport minister, said these changes were proposed following a public consultation and would be a “major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles”, which would “revolutionise the way we travel”, The Guardian reported. “This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Great Britain and we’re ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads,” she was quoted as saying. “In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain’s place as a global science superpower,” she added. According to the Daily Mail, these updates will be made to the Highway Code to legalise driverless technology before full regulations are introduced in 2025. Even though UK has expressed optimism over the safety of self-driving cars, the United States, where the use of technology is advanced, has witnessed various mishaps. In 2018, a 19-year-old pedestrian was killed by a self-driving Uber car in Arizona. Investigators said the car’s safety driver, Rafaela Vasquez, had been streaming an episode of The Voice. She is awaiting a homicide trial. Watch | Gravitas: How safe are self-driving cars? (With inputs from agencies)

Self-driving cars: Drivers can watch TV, won’t be liable for crashes, says UK draft policy

BMW is teaming up with Intel and Mobileye to develop a new technology for the auto industry that could put self-driving cars on the road by around 2021. 
 
Carmakers and technology firms are increasingly working together as they race against Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Tesla and Apple to develop driverless vehicles. 
 
&quot;Together with Intel and Mobileye, the BMW Group will develop the necessary solutions and innovative systems for highly and fully automated driving to bring these technologies into series production by 2021,&quot; the three companies said in a joint statement on Friday. 
 
They said their new platform would be made available to multiple car-makers, without saying whether they were already in talks over any deals. 
 
Sophisticated cruise control systems already enable &quot;hands off&quot; driving as cameras and computers allow cars to automatically brake, steer and accelerate in traffic at low speeds. But drivers are required to stay in control. 
 
Now the auto industry wants to develop higher levels of automation described as &quot;eyes off,&quot; &quot;mind off,&quot; and &quot;driver off&quot; cruising. 
 
This requires much more computing power and software know-how, forcing traditional carmakers to collaborate more closely with technology specialists. 
 
Auto camera and software maker Mobileye said it would supply its Road Experience Management (REM) technology to the alliance and make its latest EyeQ5 chip available to be deployed on Intel computing platforms. 
 
The three companies said they would demonstrate their technology in a prototype in the near future. 
 
(Reuters)

Carmakers and tech firms are increasingly working together in a race against companies like Google, Tesla and Apple to build driverless cars

BMW is teaming up with Intel and Mobileye to develop a new technology for the auto industry that could put self-driving cars on the road by around 2021. Carmakers and technology firms are increasingly working together as they race against Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Tesla and Apple to develop driverless vehicles. "Together with Intel and Mobileye, the BMW Group will develop the necessary solutions and innovative systems for highly and fully automated driving to bring these technologies into series production by 2021," the three companies said in a joint statement on Friday. They said their new platform would be made available to multiple car-makers, without saying whether they were already in talks over any deals. Sophisticated cruise control systems already enable "hands off" driving as cameras and computers allow cars to automatically brake, steer and accelerate in traffic at low speeds. But drivers are required to stay in control. Now the auto industry wants to develop higher levels of automation described as "eyes off," "mind off," and "driver off" cruising. This requires much more computing power and software know-how, forcing traditional carmakers to collaborate more closely with technology specialists. Auto camera and software maker Mobileye said it would supply its Road Experience Management (REM) technology to the alliance and make its latest EyeQ5 chip available to be deployed on Intel computing platforms. The three companies said they would demonstrate their technology in a prototype in the near future. (Reuters)

BMW to develop driverless car technology with Intel and Mobileye

Would you buy a car that might risk your life to save a pedestrian? 
 
That&#39;s the question researchers are mulling in a recent study about driverless cars. 
 
When it comes to autonomous cars, people generally approve of cars programmed to sacrifice their passengers to save others, but these same people are not enthusiastic about riding in such &quot;utilitarian&quot; vehicles themselves, the survey revealed. 
 
This inconsistency, which illustrates an inherent social tension between wanting the good of the individual and that of the public, persisted across a wide range of survey scenarios, revealing just how difficult it will be to make underlying programming decisions for autonomous cars - something that should be done well before these cars become a global commodity, the study`s authors note. 
 
Autonomous vehicles, or AVs, have the potential to benefit the world by eliminating up to 90 per cent of traffic accidents, but not all crashes will be avoided and some crash scenarios will require AVs to make difficult ethical decisions. 
 
To begin to inform a collective discussion about the way AVs should make such decisions, Jean-Fran?ois Bonnefon and colleagues conducted six online surveys of US residents between June and November 2015, asking participants questions about how they would want their AVs to behave. 
 
The scenarios involved in the survey varied in the number of pedestrian and passenger lives that could be saved, among other factors.Overall, participants said that AVs should be programmed to be utilitarian, but the same people also said they would prefer to buy cars that protected them and their passengers, especially if family members were involved.This suggests that if both self-protective and utilitarian AVs were allowed on the market, few people would be willing to ride in the latter, the authors say, even though they would prefer others to do so. 
 
Bonnefon et al. note that regulation may be necessary, but, based on their survey results (which reveal that regulation could substantially delay AV adoption), they say it could also be counterproductive. 
 
In a related Perspective, Joshua D. Greene highlights additional challenges around programming driverless cars, including how manufacturers of utilitarian vehicles will be criticized for their willingness to kill their own passengers, while manufacturers of self-protective cars &quot;will be criticized for devaluing the lives of others.&quot; 
 
Determining just how to build ethical autonomous machines &quot;is one of the thorniest challenges in artificial intelligence today,&quot; Bonnefon and colleagues concluded. However, their data-driven approach highlights the way the field of experimental ethics can provide key insights in this space as more and more autonomous cars hit the road. The study appears in the journal Science. 
 
(ANI)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Autonomous vehicles have the potential eliminate up to 90% of traffic accidents, but not all crases will be avoided

Would you buy a car that might risk your life to save a pedestrian? That's the question researchers are mulling in a recent study about driverless cars. When it comes to autonomous cars, people generally approve of cars programmed to sacrifice their passengers to save others, but these same people are not enthusiastic about riding in such "utilitarian" vehicles themselves, the survey revealed. This inconsistency, which illustrates an inherent social tension between wanting the good of the individual and that of the public, persisted across a wide range of survey scenarios, revealing just how difficult it will be to make underlying programming decisions for autonomous cars - something that should be done well before these cars become a global commodity, the study`s authors note. Autonomous vehicles, or AVs, have the potential to benefit the world by eliminating up to 90 per cent of traffic accidents, but not all crashes will be avoided and some crash scenarios will require AVs to make difficult ethical decisions. To begin to inform a collective discussion about the way AVs should make such decisions, Jean-Fran?ois Bonnefon and colleagues conducted six online surveys of US residents between June and November 2015, asking participants questions about how they would want their AVs to behave. The scenarios involved in the survey varied in the number of pedestrian and passenger lives that could be saved, among other factors.Overall, participants said that AVs should be programmed to be utilitarian, but the same people also said they would prefer to buy cars that protected them and their passengers, especially if family members were involved.This suggests that if both self-protective and utilitarian AVs were allowed on the market, few people would be willing to ride in the latter, the authors say, even though they would prefer others to do so. Bonnefon et al. note that regulation may be necessary, but, based on their survey results (which reveal that regulation could substantially delay AV adoption), they say it could also be counterproductive. In a related Perspective, Joshua D. Greene highlights additional challenges around programming driverless cars, including how manufacturers of utilitarian vehicles will be criticized for their willingness to kill their own passengers, while manufacturers of self-protective cars "will be criticized for devaluing the lives of others." Determining just how to build ethical autonomous machines "is one of the thorniest challenges in artificial intelligence today," Bonnefon and colleagues concluded. However, their data-driven approach highlights the way the field of experimental ethics can provide key insights in this space as more and more autonomous cars hit the road. The study appears in the journal Science. (ANI)

Driver-less cars pose 'safety dilemma'

automatic-cars

Automatic Cars, News on Automatic Cars, stories on Automatic Cars, articles on Automatic Cars, Automatic Cars stories at Wion, Automatic Cars news, Automatic Cars latest news

automatic cars

Elon Musk announces to roll out robotaxi with no wheels or pedals by 2024

Self-driving cars: Drivers can watch TV, won’t be liable for crashes, says UK draft policy

BMW to develop driverless car technology with Intel and Mobileye

Driver-less cars pose 'safety dilemma'