Student Is Denied License Because Tesla Has FSD / Too Many Safety Features

September 20, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

A user on Reddit recently had their daughter use their Tesla Model Y for her driving license test. Originally, they thought she passed the test and everything went swimmingly.

However, Arizona’s Department of Transportation (AZDOT) systems were down, so they were told to come back the next day to get her physical license. Easy enough, right?

FSD? No Licence

It turns out it's never that easy. The AZDOT tester thought that the daughter was using FSD during the driving portion of her exam and ended up denying her license. Now, while we know FSD sometimes drives like a teen driver, it turns out that Theduke432’s Model Y didn’t even have FSD. After explaining the situation to the Department of Vehicles, AZDOT backtracked.

they have too many safety features.

They found another reason to deny the license – insufficient use of the brake pedal. AZDOT thought that because the daughter didn’t use the brake pedal – as Teslas, like most EVs, primarily rely upon regenerative braking to slow the vehicle down – AZDOT didn’t think she could drive a non-Tesla.

The employee in question said they may have to ban Teslas from taking the road test – because they have too many safety features.

“Too Many Safety Features”

It seems like AZDOT thought the student driver may have had some unfair advantages, but we checked their online policy, and there’s nothing that says you can’t use a Tesla or a vehicle with regenerative braking on driving tests. In fact, we’re pretty sure if the daughter showed up with a hybrid, which also has regenerative braking, this wouldn’t have been an issue. We’re pretty sure this is a case of Tesla’s being featured in headlines praising its FSD features.

The employee in question said they may have to ban Teslas from taking the road test – because they have too many safety features. Now, the Model Y is one of the, if not the safest vehicle in the world, so we can at least agree with AZDOT on that.

The fact is, Teslas are easier and safer to drive, but that’s a good thing. Just like an automatic car is easier to drive than a standard shift.

In recent Teslas, any produced after January 2024, Tesla doesn’t even offer any regenerative brake settings. There’s a single option for everyone, which increases regen and improves efficiency. The same holds true for stopping mode, only Hold is available for newer vehicles, while older ones still have the option to choose between creep (like an automatic car, where it inches forward when you let go of the brake pedal) and roll (which mimics a standard vehicle and the car can roll forward or back when you don’t have your foot on the brake pedal).

Ban Teslas, All EVs?

We don’t think that it is AZDOT’s place to tell people that they are incapable of driving a vehicle with regular braking while testing in a Tesla. AZDOT will allow people to drive with automatic transmissions – does that mean that everyone has to test with a manual transmission?

While we’re on that subject, why don’t we test and make sure that everyone knows how to crank their car? Oh, your car doesn’t have a crank. Guess you can’t get a driver’s license. When you look at it after taking a step back, this seems silly and nonsensical. EVs are the future, and if the driver is a competent driver of a road-legal vehicle that they came to test in, there should be no reason to fail them.

Turns out that after the incident, Theduke432 got a call from AZDOT stating that their daughter can have her driver’s license – but that AZDOT will be re-evaluating their test going forward. We look forward to seeing whether AZDOT brings out the horse and buggy for their test, or if they realize that regenerative braking is on a large percentage of vehicles on the road today.

Tesla's Robotaxi Event - We, Robot - Everything Announced

October 11, 2024

By Karan Singh

Sawyer Merrit on X

Did you miss Tesla’s biggest event since its inception? No worries, we have you covered.

We’ve got a straightforward and easy-to-digest recap below, split and organized by sections. Of course, we’ll dive into some of the bigger subjects in detail over the upcoming days, so stay tuned!

Event Info

Tesla’s We, Robot event was centered on the future of autonomy
5 “neighbourhoods” were created
Westworld offered Texas BBQ and the stage for the event
Metropolis had arcade games, and the ability to take a swing at Cybertruck
TSLA Theater had pizza and desserts, as well as a movie on a gigantic screen
New York brought a block party with live music and street performers, as well as street snacks
Finally, the last area was Merch – which, surprise – offered Tesla Merch, including gear, apparel, posters, and more
Elon Musk arrived in style in a Robotaxi to kick off the event

Master Plan Part 4 Reference Poster

Jowua on X

General/Master Plan Part 4

The event made multiple references to Master Plan Part 4, but we haven’t seen the official document yet
Today’s transportation infrastructure is too expensive, not safe, and not sustainable
10 hours a week of use of consumer vehicles out of 168 hours a week
Unsupervised Full Self Driving – Fall asleep and wake up at your destination
Increased free time for humans
Goal is to remove parking lots, as less will be needed in the future of autonomous vehicles
Create green space in the cities we live in

AI Poster

Jowua on X

Robotaxi/Cybercab

Not a Tesla App

The Cybercab has 2 doors, 2 seats, and is a 4-wheeler, as expected
It has a front and rear lightbar, similar to Cybertruck
Painted aluminum (not stainless steel)
No rear or top glass
No steering wheel or pedals
Butterfly doors
Large center screen
Has large, hatch-like trunk
20 vehicles produced and ready at the event, with 30 additional Model Ys
Autonomous vehicles will be 10x safer than humans
Low cost for autonomous transit; $1/mi for buses, Cybercab around $0.2/mi ($0.4 after taxes and fees)
Will be available for purchase
Will cost below $30,000 USD
One person will be able to take care of a small fleet easily
Cybercab production begins before 2027
Comes with inductive charging
Tesla Social Media mentioned Fleet Management software
Tesla showed off an automated cleaning system in the video, vacuuming the vehicle, wiping the seats and screens
CyberCab will still be Vision-only, no need for radar or LiDAR
Call it once, and its available for you all day, for either quick trips or long trips

Elon Musk Poster

Sawyer Merrit on X

RoboVan

Tesla showed off a fully autonomous RoboVan with no front window
Up to 20 people or can be set up for goods transport
RoboVan has a Cyber aesthetic as well
Large glass sliding doors
Tesla seems to be going all-in on this aesthetic for its future vehicles
RoboVan can be adapted to school bus or RV use
RoboVan can also be adapted for personal use – this suggests it could be outfitted with a steering wheel and pedals

The CyberVan arriving

Not a Tesla App

AI and Hardware

Unsupervised FSD in Texas and California in 2025, with Model 3 and Model Y
Unsupervised FSD for S, X, and CT in the future
AI has lived “a million lives” so it’s been trained on numerous odd situations
Always pays attention and is always fully aware of its surroundings
10-30x safer than humans
Focus on Tesla Vision – full autonomy, unsupervised for S, 3, X, Y, and CT
Cybercab will have AI5, will have oversized compute compared to what’s required according to Musk
Distributed inference compute brought up again
No news on inductive charging for other vehicles

The Optimus Poster

Jowua on X

Optimus

Optimus was brought out on stage again, walked with remote human assistance
Attendees were allowed to interact with Optimus robots
Optimus robots served drinks at the bar
Expected to cost $20K-$30K USD
Will eventually be an autonomous robotic assistant that can help with household tasks
It can also be a humanoid friend, teacher, babysitter, etc.
Elon mentioned the risks of AI Super Intelligence, and having to address it
At the event, people could talk and interact with the Optimus units on the ground. Optimus movements were remotely assisted by humans. The robots voices also appear to have be humans that were in a remote location.
Guests were not allowed to touch the Optimus units in the crowd

Another poster referencing Master Plan IV.

Jowua on X

If you missed the event, you can watch it below.

Tesla 'We, Robot' Robotaxi Event: How and Where to Watch [Updated]

October 10, 2024

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s Robotaxi event is coming up later today, and there’s lots of hype. It’s absolutely going to be a must-see event, so we’ve outlined how you can watch it tonight.

We’re even running a Robotaxi Event Prediction Contest – so go sign up to win some prizes from our fantastic sponsors.

If you weren’t one of the lucky lottery winners who managed to snag a ticket, there are a few ways to watch the Robotaxi event.

When

Tesla says the event will start at 10 PM EST or 7 PM PST. However, expect it to start fashionably late as usual. The agenda Tesla has provided is below.

Watch Live

The event is expected to be available on X, YouTube, and Tesla’s website. The links for X and YouTube are below. We’ll update this as the day goes along and Tesla adds additional sources.

Watch the Robotaxi event live on X.
Watch on YouTube (below)

Agenda

This is the agenda Tesla has provided. All times are PST.

3:00 PM: Parking Lot Opens

5:00 PM: Doors Open

5:30 PM: Check-In Begins

7:00 PM: Remarks

Watch in Tesla Showrooms

Tesla is also running events at its local showrooms worldwide. Many of these pop-up events have been organized by the Tesla showrooms or in conjunction with local Tesla Owner’s Club groups.

You can go to Tesla’s Events Page here and see if there are any showrooms open in your region. These events are in-person, and a good way to hang out with local Tesla fans and owners to watch one of the biggest events in Tesla’s history. If you don’t see an event listed, try calling your local Tesla showroom or contacting your local Owner’s Club. Other events may be running locally that you could attend.