Tesla Summon+ Feature Is Clearing Regulatory Hurdles and More Tesla News

cageymaru

cageymaru

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Elon Musk has announced that the successor to its Summon feature called Summon+ is currently clearing regulatory hurdles in some regions as the electric car manufacturer readies for its release. The Summon+ feature will grant Tesla owners the power to summon their cars and the vehicle would "drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet." He also mentioned Tesla owners being able to "control their car remotely 'like a big RC car.'"

In other Tesla news, Elon Musk has announced the discontinuation of a few lower end models. Starting Monday, Tesla will stop taking orders for the low end Model S and X cars with the 75 kWh battery pack. It is speculated that this will allow Tesla more control over costs and reallocate labor to other endeavors such as Model 3 production. Last of all, Tesla has released its Q4 2018 safety report where it showed significantly less accidents in Tesla vehicles when autopilot was engaged .

In the 4th quarter, we registered one accident for every 2.91 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those driving without Autopilot, we registered one accident for every 1.58 million miles driven. By comparison, NHTSA's most recent data shows that in the United States there is an automobile crash every 436,000 miles.* *Note: Since we released our Q3 report, NHTSA has released new data, which we've referenced in our Q4 report.
 
Sounds like they're clearing inventory ahead of some new product announcements, maybe a redesign of the Model S/X to use the new batteries, or higher capacity model or something? No idea, just a hunch.
 
Wierdo said:
Sounds like they're clearing inventory ahead of some new product announcements, maybe a redesign of the Model S/X to use the new batteries, or higher capacity model or something? No idea, just a hunch.
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That could be but also by cutting back on options they cut down on costs and models with the smaller battery packs tend to have lower owner satisfaction ratings and blah blah blah.
 
Flawed - Straight up bullshit comparison - since autopilot pretty much just gets engaged on hi-way type roads where the least accidents occur. These numbers ARE NOT apples to apples therefor why the number is so much larger. Nice try though, we all like spin, after all wheel of fortune is Americas favorite game show!
 
Lakados said:
That could be but also by cutting back on options they cut down on costs and models with the smaller battery packs tend to have lower owner satisfaction ratings and blah blah blah.
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Yeah looks like they're trying to differentiate between their Model S and Model 3 lines, maybe steering people toward the high-end Model 3 Performance, which was selling at basically the same price as the discontinued entry S model.

Pros and cons, higher range and better efficiency vs more passenger and cargo room etc.
 
The Mad Atheist said:
Summon!? What is this Final Fantasy? What am I going to do, escape a battle by summoning it, then drive away?
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Is it too soon to make an awful joke about it only works if you're not RPing as a 7 year old girl. Otherwise, you get shot by gangsters when you try to summon your vehicle.
 
oldmanbal said:
Flawed - Straight up bullshit comparison - since autopilot pretty much just gets engaged on hi-way type roads where the least accidents occur. These numbers ARE NOT apples to apples therefor why the number is so much larger. Nice try though, we all like spin, after all wheel of fortune is Americas favorite game show!
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You missed the part where the crash rate is 4 times lower WITHOUT autopilot.
 
The crash rate for autopilot actually sounds pretty bad to me compared to non-autopilot.

Autopilot: 1 crash per 3M miles. Driving conditions: freeways, divided roads, possibly disabled in extreme weather conditions. Note that miles accumulate much faster on freeways.
No autopilot: 1 crash every 1.5M miles. Driving conditions: freeways, highways, divided roads, local roads, school zones, any and all weird road configurations and conditions.

Under those circumstances I’m concerned autopilot is only 2 times better. I wonder what the equivalent crash rate is for non-autopilot use just on freeways etc where autopilot s viable. I’d be very surprised if it was less than 1 in 3M to be honest.
 
oldmanbal said:
Flawed - Straight up bullshit comparison - since autopilot pretty much just gets engaged on hi-way type roads where the least accidents occur. These numbers ARE NOT apples to apples ...
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Huacanacha said:
The crash rate for autopilot actually sounds pretty bad to me compared to non-autopilot.
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Have to agree here. There is a regional component, too - Teslas aren't common in regions where vehicle accidents are highest. Although I am a Tesla fan, I live in a region where traffic accidents and fatalities per miles driven are very high.

I live in a very rural area where there are very few Tesla because the population is low (average town size is less than 4k), the space between towns is greater than 40 miles, and there are zero charging stations. Where wild and domestic animals on the road are common. Where over half the roads are unpaved dirt with a width less than 2 lanes, with no guardrails, and often including a 400m dropoff on one side. Where there is severe washboarding and a lot of switchbacks. Where snow and ice covers the road for 5+ months out of the year. And where kids often drive to school because it's the only way they can participate in sports or get part time work.

I've talked with a local who lives on a small farm and owns a Tesla, and he says once you leave the city limits you have to turn all the autopilot stuff off. Autopilot does not do dirt roads.

All the same, though we have a bridge in my town that is a 'T' intersection onto a highway-speed section of road, and just last summer a Mercedes with driver-assist features prevented a man from turning left onto the bridge because a motorcycle was coming. Probably saved the motorcyclists life.
 
I like the summon feature as concept but in reality what real value does it add?
 
oldmanbal said:
Flawed - Straight up bullshit comparison - since autopilot pretty much just gets engaged on hi-way type roads where the least accidents occur. These numbers ARE NOT apples to apples therefor why the number is so much larger. Nice try though, we all like spin, after all wheel of fortune is Americas favorite game show!
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I'm pretty sure most fatalities occur on highway type roads. There will be more accidents in a city but those are usually without casualties due to the reduced speed of the traffic. Of course the comparison is still false, and that's why you shouldn't believe statistics unless you read the fine print.
 
M76 said:
I'm pretty sure most fatalities occur on highway type roads. There will be more accidents in a city but those are usually without casualties due to the reduced speed of the traffic. Of course the comparison is still false, and that's why you shouldn't believe statistics unless you read the fine print.
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The article is talking about accidents not fatalities.
 
So, I take my smoking-hot model girlfriend to eat at a fancy restaurant, tossing the Tesla keys (um, my iphone?) to the valet. Every eye is on her as she flaunts her long legs while we get seated. After dessert, the waiter brings me the bill. WTF??? No chick is worth THAT much!!!

In a bid to escape without paying the bill or facing her scathing remarks, I head to the loo. I quickly run out the back door and SUMMON THE TESLA (spoken in the same voice as "Release the Kraken!")

Miles away, a Tesla awakens. It is in a valet park, tight by other vehicles. Zig-zagging back and forth, it eventually extricates itself. The lot barrier? It crashes through. It must return to its master! The gate attendant is left in the dust, running down the street. The motorcycle cop revs up his bike in pursuit. The single-minded Tesla ignores his siren: its loudness is meaningless compared to the call of the master. More police cars pile on the pursuit. Officer Deacon, the shift sergeant, has seen it all. He gets ahead of the peleton, and throws down the spike strips. The Tesla will not be denied! It crosses right over them!

Back at the restaurant, cold sweat is covering my body. Nervously wondering how long the escort, err, "girlfriend", will wait, I hear sirens in the distance. Soon a flapping rubber sound, underlaid by the screech of metal scraping on asphalt, heralds the arrival of my Tesla. Hood dented and windshield shattered by the parking lot barrier, tires flattened by the spikes, cops swarming...my escape is blocked.

After being cuffed and tossed in the back of the squad car, we head to the station so I can be booked.

The Tesla, ever faithful, does its best to keep up.


^^^

You think this WON'T happen???
 
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I envision the car driving in allies and things where it shouldn't because it wants to be as close as possible to come get you, even when inside a building....
 
c3k said:
So, I take my smoking-hot model girlfriend to eat at a fancy restaurant, tossing the Tesla keys (um, my iphone?) to the valet. Every eye is on her as she flaunts her long legs while we get seated. After dessert, the waiter brings me the bill. WTF??? No chick is worth THAT much!!!

In a bid to escape without paying the bill or facing her scathing remarks, I head to the loo. I quickly run out the back door and SUMMON THE TESLA (spoken in the same voice as "Release the Kraken!")

Miles away, a Tesla awakens. It is in a valet park, tight by other vehicles. Zig-zagging back and forth, it eventually extricates itself. The lot barrier? It crashes through. It must return to its master! The gate attendant is left in the dust, running down the street. The motorcycle cop revs up his bike in pursuit. The single-minded Tesla ignores his siren: its loudness is meaningless compared to the call of the master. More police cars pile on the pursuit. Officer Deacon, the shift sergeant, has seen it all. He gets ahead of the peleton, and throws down the spike strips. The Tesla will not be denied! It crosses right over them!

Back at the restaurant, cold sweat is covering my body. Nervously wondering how long the escort, err, "girlfriend", will wait, I hear sirens in the distance. Soon a flapping rubber sound, underlaid by the screech of metal scraping on asphalt, heralds the arrival of my Tesla. Hood dented and windshield shattered by the parking lot barrier, tires flattened by the spikes, cops swarming...my escape is blocked.

After being cuffed and tossed in the back of the squad car, we head to the station so I can be booked.

The Tesla, ever faithful, does its best to keep up.


^^^

You think this WON'T happen???
Click to expand...

I'm certain that won't happen but you got quite the imagination.
 
Huacanacha said:
The crash rate for autopilot actually sounds pretty bad to me compared to non-autopilot.

Autopilot: 1 crash per 3M miles. Driving conditions: freeways, divided roads, possibly disabled in extreme weather conditions. Note that miles accumulate much faster on freeways.
No autopilot: 1 crash every 1.5M miles. Driving conditions: freeways, highways, divided roads, local roads, school zones, any and all weird road configurations and conditions.

Under those circumstances I’m concerned autopilot is only 2 times better. I wonder what the equivalent crash rate is for non-autopilot use just on freeways etc where autopilot s viable. I’d be very surprised if it was less than 1 in 3M to be honest.
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Something to keep in mind though, Telsa autopilot has been in existence since October 9th, 2014 or roughly 4 years and a few months. Crash rates for "new drivers" are so high that insurance companies increase their prices for such drivers.

If you look at a driver with under 5 years experience in driving conditions of all the weird road configurations and conditions, it's probably closer to four or five times autopilot's levels and not 2 times. The no autopilot figure includes all the drivers with 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years of experience driving.

I almost guarantee you that, if you take into account the natural doubling rates of computers combined with improvements in algorithms, when autopilot is 10 years old or even 20 years old, it'll probably be able to make 4-8 times the calculations per time period with greater accuracy. Combined, those two factors should result in far superior performance and less crashes -- even under the aforementioned conditions.

Whereas the average human driver will probably remain fairly stagnant in skill. I don't think drivers of ten years from now on average will suddenly double in skill. New-newbies will replace the current generation and so-forth. It's only 2x right now as you're including drivers with literal decades of experience.
 
WBurchnall said:
Something to keep in mind though, Telsa autopilot has been in existence since October 9th, 2014 or roughly 4 years and a few months. Crash rates for "new drivers" are so high that insurance companies increase their prices for such drivers.

If you look at a driver with under 5 years experience in driving conditions of all the weird road configurations and conditions, it's probably closer to four or five times autopilot's levels and not 2 times. The no autopilot figure includes all the drivers with 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years of experience driving.

I almost guarantee you that, if you take into account the natural doubling rates of computers combined with improvements in algorithms, when autopilot is 10 years old or even 20 years old, it'll probably be able to make 4-8 times the calculations per time period with greater accuracy. Combined, those two factors should result in far superior performance and less crashes -- even under the aforementioned conditions.

Whereas the average human driver will probably remain fairly stagnant in skill. I don't think drivers of ten years from now on average will suddenly double in skill. New-newbies will replace the current generation and so-forth. It's only 2x right now as you're including drivers with literal decades of experience.
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Oh I have no doubt that self driving cars will be far superior to humans at some point in the near to mid future. My concern is that the safety of self driving as it stands is being oversold due to comparisons with human drivers on non-equivalent terms. To be only 2x safer when autopilot is disabled under any sort of tricky conditions is not a good comparative result as it stands (even if the crash rate in itself is good). I’d really like to see proper apples to apples rates!
 
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