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ahhh that would do it. west texas is going bananas right now though. we had a couple large well pads we were working on in east texas for CVX too, but those were put on hold for a while. no telling when it'll come back into play.

 

A while back Tesla announced that all their cars would get a free one month trial of the full self driving. My car got it about 3 weeks ago and I've been using it every chance I get. Compared to version 11 I used last year version 12.3 is light years ahead. I do still have to take over occasionally. Today I was driving in heavy city traffic, stop and go, cars trying to enter the flow of traffic from parking lots, other cars making unprotected turns into parking lots. Now I don't trust other drivers or FSD, so I'm ready to take over at the first sign of it misbehaving. As I approach the spot where the cars were trying to get into the parking lot a nice human driver would stop back a little bit and allow people to get in and out. My expectation of FSD was that it would drive like a dick and block the intersection. But no, it stopped and let cars turn in front of it like a nice human driver. After that section was behind us I'm the middle of 3 lanes and watching a driver on my right because I didn't trust them (I really have trust issues when it comes to other drivers. I trust them to do stupid shit.) When the FSD slowed the car a bit I was like now what? FSD had noticed a car in the left lane was signaling to move over and FSD let them do that. Where I live shit like that just doesn't happen, human drivers DO NOT let people over. Changing lanes is one of the hardest things to do around here.

FSD version 12.3 is far from perfect, and it's a damn site better than most of the other drivers on the road at this point. At $8K or a $100/ month it is still to expensive for my needs, but I'd probably pay if I was commuting to work. It's like having a second set of eyes on the road that don't get tired.

 

That's awesome. Could you imagine a world where the emotion is taken out of driving and relinquished to logic with a whole lot of efficiency.

 

Lol what could possibly go wrong

 

I have mixed feelings about giving up my steering wheel in favor of FSD. On one side I'm all for it because 99.9% of my driving is a no joy utilitarian exercise of getting from point A to point B. If I could let the car drive me through rush hour traffic, oh please yes sign me up. On the other side there is that fraction of a percent where I can let the Tesla rip. I've had the car for 2.5 years and that never gets old. I do think FSD will eventually be required just like seat belts and antilock brakes are today. When the babies of today are old enough to drive they'll be telling stories like, "my grandpa used to drive himself everywhere. I can't imaging how terrible that must have been for him."

 

Oh no doubt. Off-roading or rural driving would be a must for self driving IMO. However, like you suggest, congested urban cluster fucks I would be all in for FSD. Like you, my mundane commute would easily be handled by FSD. It's so soul sucking and anger evoking at the best of times. It's compounded by my 2020 Tacoma being a crappy, inappropriate daily commuter/heavy rush hour vehicle. It so shines away from the crowds and traffic. This is where it's soooo enjoyable to drive. I Keep thinking how I'd love to escape to the mountains full time at the cabin.

 

I think this is where it is important. And I think we might see cars heading this way, not to replace the driver, to supplement them. Recently testing agencies have started including active safety systems in their safety score, and they are not wrong, a system that PREVENTS an accident is much better than on that protects when there IS one.

Frankly, just like everyone is now using Teslas charger network, all along this might have been a move to have everyone use Teslas AI driving supplement. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. They have been dumping LOTS of money into this for over a decade now, there is no way customers buying it could have paid that back. And sure, robots taxi, but who wants a million miles on their car because it's out driving while you are at work...

 

I'd be down for some software that would simply give people some recommendations during certain situations. Like hey, now would be a great time to use cruise control, or maybe get out of the left lane..

 

For the second set of eyes to work the car or the human have to be able to take control. Like in my example of 3 lanes of rush hour traffic. I was paying most of my attention to the driver on the right that didn't seem to understand that those white lines on the road are lane markers. FSD was able to take control and slow the car just a fraction so the guy on the left could move over. If it had beeped at me it would have just been a distraction. Or worse became a back seat driver and talked to me.

lol - this is so true. The Tesla fanboys want you to believe that your car can make you money when you're not using it. It's also their argument why FSD costs such a stupid amount of money. Lets say for sake of argument that was true. I own a business right now and it takes a good deal of my attention. I don't want to own a taxi business. The last thing in the world I want to deal with is cleaning some drunks puke from the back of my car. That's a part of owning a taxi business and one of the million reasons I want no part in that. If robo taxies ever live up to their hype I'll probably just sell my Tesla to someone that wants to own a taxi business and skip car ownership altogether.

 

Long-Range EVs Are Finally Cheaper Than Average Gas Cars

https://insideevs.com/news/722582/long-range-evs-cheaper-gas/

 

FYI on repair from accidents in an EV.
A family member ran over a log on the fwy with his Tesla. Luckily no harm to him or other passengers. It was unavoidable as there was cars on both sides and no time to brake. When he finally got home, the car was in limp mode (later found a damage to the battery)

He didn't have Tesla insurance, just your standard from his agent for decades. Finding a repair center that was Tesla approved was extremely difficult living in LA. Had to have it towed to 30mins away to an approved center from their insurance list.

After the repair was done, the car wouldn't charge. Found out they only did the exterior repair and nothing to the electrical. Took it to Tesla and luckily warranty covered the battery replacement and whatever else was needed.

If you're out of warranty, you're SOL. If you can afford the Tesla, consider forking out the Tesla insurance.

 

CATL battery successfully powers electric plane with 1,800-mile civil aircraft expected - Sodium Solid State batteries due next year.

https://electrek.co/2024/06/25/catl-successfully-tests-electric-plane-1800-mile-model-nears/

 

CATL is really pushing forward battery technology. I not sure any other manufacture is driving battery tech this hard and fast.

China is dramatically moving from copying and manufacturing everyone else's tech into leading the development of new technology.

 

Could be within the next five years the current battery tech will be near obsolete due to innovation. Allso some US battery manufactures are developing fast charge and Solid State batteries which all non Chinese manufacturers are testing. Soon the range and charge anxiety will be diminishing rapidly.

 

I'm still a fan of the PHEV, at least for things like trucks. Ramcharger looks kinda interesting. For runabout sedans and the like, BEVs are fine, but once you start needing to pull non aerodynamic blocks of stuff around...

 

VW is entering a $5B joint venture with Rivian

 

One billion immediately. That's quite a commitment and VW is in the top 5 car mfg. on the planet. Rivian just went from some struggling to a safety zone. Now they need to make their cheaper EV's to pull in more sales.

 

All right GenX ers... this is for us!!!!

Huffy upgrades Green Machine for electric age as $600 adult drift trike

 

Toyota to unveil first ‘full’ self driving EV next year as it chases Tesla

https://electrek.co/2024/06/28/toyota-first-full-self-driving-ev-chases-tesla/

 

I’d expect Toyota to have done their research and come out with something on par with Tesla, or if not, better.