Jon McNeill, a former Tesla and Lyft executive, recently shared his thoughts on Tesla’s automation goals and its new robotaxi at the World Business Forum. McNeill noted that automation has been a major initiative for Tesla for nearly a decade. “It was a topic of conversation every week, if not every day,” he said.
McNeill expressed surprise that recent announcements from Tesla didn’t reveal any groundbreaking advancements. “Oftentimes, Elon has got something up his sleeve. I was really wondering, what’s up his sleeve?
What does he have? Because Waymo and Cruise are already at Level 4. Tesla’s at Level 2.
He’s got to have some major breakthroughs to talk about to take it from Level 2 to Level 4.”
Level 2 automation involves advanced driver assistance system functions like brake support and lane centering, but requires human supervision. Level 4 means the car can drive itself without human intervention under certain conditions. McNeill anticipated Tesla would reveal a detailed roadmap to build confidence in its autonomous future.
Tesla’s vision-only concerns
McNeill discussed Tesla’s approach to achieving full self-driving capability through cameras only, forgoing technologies like lidar and radar. He admitted concerns about this vision-only approach.
“Human beings can drive a car with two eyes, so if you give a car eight eyes, it should solve the problem, right? But there are challenges like snow, fog, sun glare, darkness, and other obstacles. Lidar can see through all those conditions, and when lives are at stake, safety should not be compromised.”
McNeill also mentioned the possibility of Tesla reintroducing lidar into its system, given the significant reduction in lidar costs.
He highlighted Tesla’s history of making bold changes despite previously declared stances. This was evident when Musk announced that vehicles with outdated hardware would receive a free retrofit to accommodate unsupervised full self-driving. The electric vehicle industry is notoriously challenging.
McNeill pointed out that companies like Fisker are losing substantial money per car manufactured, while others constantly change their business models. He emphasized that having an effective and visionary leader is crucial to navigate the complexities of car manufacturing. McNeill underscored the difficulties of producing electric vehicles at scale, noting, “It’s really easy to produce a prototype, but it’s really hard to produce at mass scale.
The fixed costs are so high, and if you don’t get the product right, it’s merciless.”
Reflecting on Tesla’s recent robotaxi event and the broader electric vehicle startup landscape, McNeill highlighted the importance of detailed roadmaps, reliable technology choices, and effective leadership in achieving success in the highly competitive and demanding automotive industry.
